The Hard Road to Peace
by wonder-chef
Summary: A sequel to The Best of Friends. SPOILERS. This is a story of the Kharlan war. It tells the tale of the hero Mithos and his three companions. It may be slightly more centralized on Kratos and Yuan. Yuartel. chap 18 up
1. Chapter 1

Hello everybody and welcome to the next installment of the epic that is the life of Kratos and Yuan. This is the second story in what could be considered a series. The first was The Best Of Friends which told of Kratos and Yuan as young boys. They are men now however and it is time that they begin their epic journey besides Martel and Mithos. I suggest you read the other story first. But if you feel some desperate need to read this now here is a summary. But before that I'd like to tell you that I don't own Tales of Symphonia.

In The Best Friends we learned that the humans are winning the war. Kratos's father was a general in the war and little Kratos was quite rich. Do to issues with bullies Kratos's father gives him a half elf slave to protect him and thus Yuan and Kratos meet. When he learns that slaves can't read Kratos decides to teach Yuan (illegally) in return Yuan teaches Kratos to be tough. Some time passes and Kratos goes to high school. Here he learns swords and he and Yuan learn some magic. However, on the day Kratos's father is promoted to Commander Yuan's reading is discovered. Kratos and Yuan barely escape and are forced to find a new way to live.

And now your feature presentation.

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4008 years before Tales of Symphonia

Yuan was enjoying himself immensely as he ran as fast he could away from the town where he had recently worked. Behind him came his friend, his friend's dog and a whole group of angry men. Yuan wasn't worried, he'd done this before.

When he felt they were far enough from town Yuan let himself fall into the high grass. He crawled away from where he had fallen and then lay still. He heard the nearby grass rustle and then go quite, so he knew that Kratos and Noishe had followed suite.

" I can't find him sir!" One of Yuan's pursuers shouted.

" Fine then, dammit! Just so long as they don't come back. Let them be some one else's problem for all I care!" Another voice replied, and Yuan grinned to himself as he heard the mob retreat. He waited another couple of minutes and then he stood up.

" Ollie ollie oxen free," Yuan shouted playfully to let his friend know it was okay to come out. Kratos stood up and glared nastily at Yuan.

"What?" Yuan asked his friend innocently.

" You did that on purpose," Kratos told him coldly. The half-elf rolled his eyes and watched as Kratos whistled for his dog.

"Oh, come on! We would have been caught anyway. They were running blood tests. I just made our leaving a little more fun. Besides Noishe did all the dirty work. Didn't you boy?"

" Just the same. You shouldn't have done that,' Kratos answered pulling feathers out of his pet's fur. Yuan sighed deeply.

" So where to this time?" He asked more seriously.

" Let's just go we're bound to end up somewhere," the human replied. So the two friends set off through the tall grass hoping to find better luck elsewhere. Yuan sighed again as he let himself get lost in his thoughts. He gave a side long glance to his friend and thought to himself just how much everything had changed.

For the past six years the two friends had been traveling around to small towns looking for any work they could get their hands on. It hadn't been easy and they had learned something. Not all humans had it easy. The pathetic jobs the friends took saw them sleeping in barracks amongst the lowest of the human race. The jobs paid little, and after room and board was deducted there was hardly anything left. That was one of the things that had changed. Yuan and Kratos weren't so ignorant now.

Humans weren't all rich, but half-elves had it worst. He still remembered the pathetic dirty little town he'd spent his early childhood in. And even now it was the fault his blood that he couldn't hold down a job. In order to get hired Yuan had to pass himself off as a human. Most of the time he could get past the early blood tests with smooth talking, but eventually there was a medical exam and then everything was over. Blood tests would show his species and they would have to run again. Kratos always came with him, even though Kratos was human and could have stayed.

Yuan glanced at his friend again and then lowered his eyes. Kratos had changed more then anything. More even then Noishe who had as good as changed species by turning from bird to dog. Kratos was so serious now. He hardly smiled or laughed and there was a sadness behind his eyes most of the time. The cowardly, nervous, little Kratos who Yuan had first met was long gone. Now Kratos carried himself with a quite dignity and control that seemed to rebel against their now slummy surroundings. It was only when Noishe wanted to play or when Yuan teased him that Kratos would snap from his controlled behavior and act his age. He was only twenty after all.

Kratos's personality wasn't the only thing that had changed either. And Yuan felt himself grow jealous as he thought about it. Kratos had grown up in other ways as well. Six years ago Yuan had been taller than Kratos and had had a deeper voice. Not so anymore. Over the past six years Yuan had had his fun laughing as his friends voice cracked and teasing when Kratos's random growth spurts constantly upset his balance. That was over now and Kratos was now taller and had the lower voice.

"You have nicer hair…" Yuan told himself as he and Kratos at last reached a town.

" What?" Kratos asked.

" Oh, nothing. Nothing don't worry about it. We should find a place to stay," Yuan said and Kratos bent down to get their things off of Noishe. The protozoan (for that is what he truly was) carried everything the two men owned. Across his back was the double edged sword that had once belonged to Yuan's brother, and he carried the sword and shield Kratos had saved his money for. The human began counting their money to see if they had enough for an inn.

" Just enough. We'll have to pick up another job soon." Kratos said looking up at Yuan.

" Damn. Can't we get a break for once? But let's go find an inn before we look for jobs. It's always best to sign up not looking like you just fled your last place of employment. And I wouldn't mind getting something good to eat before we sell our souls to another boss." Kratos nodded in agreement and the two friends went to find a hotel.

" There's one!" Yuan said pointing out a building to his friend. It wasn't a particularly nice inn, but it was the best they could afford, so together with Noishe at their heels they entered the inn. A man at the counter looked at them and raised an eyebrow. Kratos sighed and held up their bag of gald so the man knew they could pay.

"Oh! Welcome, welcome! Would you like a room? We have the perfect room, it has two beds and a rug where your animal friend can sleep. I just need one of your names and payment." The man looked back and forth between the two men with a large, fake smile. Kratos and Yuan looked at one another and Yuan approached the counter.

" My name is erm…" Kratos sighed as he watched Yuan try and come up with a good fake name. They had given up using their real names in public ever since they had escaped his father's clutches. Yuan came up with a new name wherever they went but Kratos had been using the same name. Realizing Yuan wasn't going to think of something anytime soon Kratos pushed him out of the way.

" Lloyd," he said shoving money on the counter. " We'll find the room ourselves." Kratos climbed up the nearby staircase and heard Yuan and Noishe behind him.

" You stole my fun," Yuan mumbled as they reached the room. " Why do use that name any way; it's boring and it sounds weird."

" I like it," Kratos answered blandly.

"Yeah, but why?" Yuan asked. He followed Kratos into the room and they put their things down on the beds. Kratos told Noishe to stay and then they left closing the door behind them.

"You haven't answered my question!" Yuan continued to bother Kratos as they left the inn.

"I don't know I just do. It starts with two consonants and it looks interesting when you write it!" Kratos turned around and looked at Yuan in a rather flustered way. Yuan just grinned and walked past him.

"Hey 'Lloyd' check it out. A restaurant with real food." Yuan said grabbing Kratos by the arm and pulling him towards it. Kratos jerked back causing Yuan to stumble.

"We can't afford it."

"But it smells so good. And look at this menu, Kratos, all the stuff you used to eat," Yuan pointed to a menu that was posted outside. Kratos rolled his eyes but walked closer. He stared at the menu and then looked at his friend.

"Fine just this once," he said. Yuan nodded and hurried in. He wondered how it was that Kratos who had grown up unaware of the importance of money had proven himself to be better at spending it. Yuan sighed as he sat down feeling slightly envious over Kratos's possession of their money.

They sat and waited for a waiter to bring them a menu. They both sighed contently as they leaned back in the soft seats. Neither of them had realized just how tired they were until they actually sat down. The stressful morning, the running, and then all that traveling was exhausting.

"We wouldn't have had to run if we'd just slipped out in the morning. Or we could have tried to find a way around the blood tests. But you had to have your little fun."

"Aww Kratos, you thought it was funny too. I saw you smiling. Poor Noishe had been wanting to get at the boss's chickens since we first arrived in that town, I just wanted to give him a chance. Besides you were expecting something to happen. You had all our things prepared to throw on Noishe's back." Yuan told his friend, and Kratos dropped the conversation. Yuan knew he was right, Kratos had thought the whole thing was funny.

The waiter arrived and put the menus in front of them. Kratos picked his up and began to read, Yuan took a quick glance at his menu and picked what he wanted. Bored he began to look around the restaurant for girls.

"Feh, nothing good," Yuan mumbled to himself.

"You picked the restaurant..."

"Not the food the girls. Yeesh Kratos, take your head out of the menu and look around a little," Yuan said looking over at his friend. Kratos continued reading. Yuan rolled his eyes then went back to girl watching.

"Check that one out. She's not half bad! I didn't see her before."

"Hmm," Yuan glanced over at Kratos to discover he was still reading.

"Oh come on! Quit reading already! I swear you are missing a whole set of hormones. You have no interest in girls whatsoever. And it's not just that, you have no sexual interest in anything. Not girls, not men, not animals, not children, not…" Yuan turned to discover Kratos was no longer reading. He was staring at Yuan with a look of horrified disgust.

"What?" Yuan asked.

"Has it ever occurred to you that perhaps I'd prefer to wait. That maybe I'd prefer to have a relationship built on mutual trust instead of pure animal attraction?"

"Uh, no actually it hasn't… You know this is all your parents' fault. They cheated on each other and now you just want to be as different from them as you can. You've persuaded yourself that you're waiting for true love but that's not it. Kratos there is no such thing. It's just in fairy tales. You've read to many stories and now you believe in true love and love at first sight and all that schlock. Let me tell you love at fist sight is complete bull-"

Yuan looked up and saw the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Girl, no, this was a woman, a goddess. The way she carried herself, that look on her face. There was something about her, an aura. She wasn't just beautiful there was something else, something that made Yuan feel inferior. He could feel himself staring at her and he knew he should stop, but he couldn't. He could sense Kratos's look of confusion but he could only find enough sense to close his open mouth.

The woman was dressed simply in a plain dress that was worn and dirty from travel. Her hair was a pale greenish blonde and she wore it in a simple braid that ran all the way down her back. The look on her face was what got Yuan's attention. Her lips were turned up into a small but genuine smile. There was a resigned sadness in her pale blue eyes but she held her head level as she walked as though she had no fear of the world. But the best part was that she was a half-elf, Yuan could sense it. She was the perfect woman; no where on the planet did their live any woman he would rather be with.

Yuan's heart sank. Walking behind this perfect woman came a little boy.

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The first chapter of a new story. I'm sorry if it's not particularly interesting. I promise it will get more so. But I had to bring everyone up to date with what our boys, no, our men have been doing. Next chapter might not be to exciting either (I plan to follow the siblings to show what they were doing before they walked into the restaurant) but after that this thing should start moving. Just have to start out slow before we build momentum. Since this is technically a new story I'd like to say again that reviews are nice, but if you have any bad things to say please say them nicely. No flaming. And now some advice from my driver's manual: It is harder to see at night. Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

Hello everyone and welcome to the second chapter! I'd first like to apologize for my inability to write the time. In the previous chapter I stated that the story took place 2008 years before Tales of Symphonia. That would be wrong. This would be 4008 years before Tales of Symphonia. Not only that but in my first story I wrote that it was 2020 years before Tales of Tales of Symphonia, that's two Tales ofs. And I meant to write the time when I made time pass in the last story and I forgot to. (Although it didn't make much difference). This time though I have a crappy excuse: I must really want to graduate High School, because I wrote down my class year. So two things: I don't own Tales of Symphonia (or Tales of Tales of Symphonia) and GO Class 2008. Whoot Whoot… oh never mind….

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_Earlier That Same Day_

"NOOO!" Martel turned around quickly to see that her little brother had woken up.

"Shhhh, Mithos it was just a nightmare," She said gently taking her small brother in her arms. He was shaking violently and there were tears on his face, but his eyes were on fire.

" It's not fair," Mithos said when at last he calmed down. Martel looked at her little brother sadly.

"What isn't fair?" She asked.

"Our parents, humans, elves. Everything," He told her. Martel held him closer and began to stroke his hair. She knew what he was referring to, he'd had that same dream before. Martel had never told him the details of their exile from Heimdall and he was too young to remember it. She had thought it would be to harsh on his young ears to here of their parents deaths. She thought he would be frightened to hear how the elves had chased their family from Heimdall and how they were met at the edge of the forest be angry humans, who killed their parents. Martel had thought it would protect him if he didn't know.

It hadn't. Mithos had imagined his own version of events and many times he saw the horrible story in his sleep. His version of events involved the whole world turning against them, even their own parents. They weren't half elves and to Mithos that meant they could never love their children.

"We don't need them, do we Martel? I wouldn't want to be with anyone but you!" Mithos looked up at his sister excitedly. Martel sighed softly. He looked so happy, but his words didn't sound right to her.

"I like being with you too Mithos, but you can't just shut out the world," She told him. Gently she placed him on the ground and stood up. "Now go get out of your pajamas. I'll make breakfast. I promise not to turn around."

Martel laughed to herself as she began to prepare breakfast. She knew that behind her, her little brother was staring at her as he changed. He had recently become embarrassed of having her help him take baths and change clothes. He wouldn't even let her turn around when he was changing. Apparently now that he was six he could do these things himself.

When Mithos was dressed and their food was ready the two siblings sat down to breakfast. They ate in silence for awhile. Mithos sat thinking gloomily about his dream, while Martel watched their beautiful surroundings. She smiled contently as she looked at the scenery. She loved the outdoors, the beautiful trees, the gentle wind, and the endless mountains. She was sad for a minute as she thought about how much had been destroyed by the war, how much was gone simply because two races couldn't get along. But her sadness passed as she assured herself that everyday she was searching for peace.

Mithos looked as his sister as he ate. He thought to himself how beautiful she looked with the wind blowing her hair. He had never known anyone but his sister; as far back as he could remember the two of them had been traveling. Mithos wanted nothing but to keep his sister happy and to remain by her side. He knew that she dreamt of peace between the races, and as long as that was what she desired he wanted it too. He put his little breakfast bowl down and looked up at her.

"Where are we going today?" He asked.

"I don't know exactly Mithos. But I'm sure we'll find someplace where I can preach my ideals. And remember what we're looking for Mithos." Martel said.

"You know this would be easier if humans had churches to preach in. Only the half-elves ever listen to you Martel. The humans are too stupid to pay any attention, I hope we find a half-elf village. But Martel I think what we're looking for is pretty impossible to find…"

"Nothing is impossible Mithos, not if you put your mind to it," Martel put a hand on her little brother's head and he raised and eyebrow at her. "It's true! I'm sure someday we'll find what we're looking for. And once we do we'll have the proof that our greater goal can be achieved. If we could find a half-elf and a human who got along then we'll have proof that getting the races at peace is not impossible."

"I thought you said nothing was impossible," Mithos replied. Martel smiled at her brother and mussed his hair. Laughing the little boy tried to escape from his sister but she pulled him closer and began to tickle him.

"Martel. Hee hee! Stop it! Martel. Ha Ha Ha hee hee hee!"

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Awhile later Martel and Mithos were walking along in search of a town. Martel walked briskly with Mithos plodding along behind her. He was tired from walking, his little legs just couldn't go as far as she could, but he was too big to carry. He was silent, however, he didn't want to complain and cause problems for his sister.

"You're tired aren't you Mithos?" Martel said turning around. Mithos shook his head.

"I'm fine!" He smiled at her trying his best to look wide awake.

"Come here, I can carry you for a little way at least." Martel smiled back at him bent down so he could climb on her back. Mithos sighed as he let his sister give him a piggy back ride; he felt as if he'd failed her.

"Someday Martel, you're going to be able to depend on me! I'll help you instead of the other way around!" He told her determinedly.

"You do help me Mithos. I'd never be able to do this without you by my side. I'd be so lonely." His sisters words calmed him and Mithos snuggled into her back. He lay still for awhile breathing in the smell of his sister. He felt a rare feeling of contentment.

"Martel look!" Mithos had glanced up from his happy stupor to see a little town over the horizon. Martel looked up and smiled.

"Can you walk the rest of the way?" Mithos nodded and she put him down. He could tell his sister was exhausted from carrying him so he offered to take the bags. Laughing she called him a little gentleman and let him carry their things.

It wasn't long before they had reached the town and Mithos was disappointed to see that it was full of humans. They wouldn't find any half-elves here at least not free ones. He sighed and he felt Martel glance down at him. He tried to look excited so she wouldn't see his disappointment, but they both knew the thing they most disagreed on was humans.

"Where are you gonna persuade people?" Mithos asked his sister.

"There has to be somewhere where people congregate? If they don't have a church what else would they gather around. There aren't any festivals…" Martel's voice trailed off as she thought. Mithos's stomach growled.

"Food!" Both siblings chorused.

"Where there is food there will be people," Martel said.

"Especially since it's lunch time," Mithos added. They smiled at one another and then hurried into town to find a restaurant. Mithos looked around nervously, he was convinced that someone was going to recognize them as half-elves before Martel could even speak. It was very important to Martel that she get to preach, although they would undoubtedly be chased from the town before day's end, she wanted to at least speak first. Mithos walked in silence as he followed his sister he did not want to lose her in the crowd. Eventually Martel found what she was looking for. A little restaurant that was enjoying the lunch rush. She looked down at her brother and nodded, he nodded back and together they entered the building.

Mithos couldn't stand the smells. He was hungry and it all smelled so good. He had never eaten anything so good as what was served here. Mithos glanced around the warm restaurant as he quickly ate a roll from his pack. The little boy stood there distracted with the roll hanging out of his mouth. He could sense it, there was another half-elf in the restaurant. But as he looked around Mithos didn't see anything.

There weren't any slaves in the room. Just a lot of middle class workers and a handful of lower class workers who had decided to splurge. That was when he caught sight of one of the workers who was staring at his sister. Mithos followed his sister closely, he didn't like this guy or the way he was looking at Martel. But the thing that got Mithos the most was that he had the feeling this worker was the other half elf.

And now he was staring at Mithos, but he didn't look as happy.

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Yuan watched the little boy incredulously. That little brat couldn't be with her it wasn't fair. The child had blond hair that hung just a little below his shoulders. He was dressed as simply as the woman he followed, and he was carrying to bags that were a too big for him. The boy took hold of the woman's skirt and glared back at Yuan possessively.

"What are you looking at!" Kratos asked loudly, and Yuan was snapped from his staring contest with the child.

"Uh… Half-elf… That… that woman is a half-elf. I didn't know what she was doing in here. She doesn't look very rich."

"You could say the same about yourself. If they want to eat let them"

"What if they get caught?"

"What if we get caught?"

"But…" Yuan was interrupted as the woman stood up on a table and cleared her throat. The two men stopped arguing and turned to look. The entire restaurant was staring at her but she didn't seem to care.

"I'd like to speak to all of you about something you've begun to take for granted. This war has been going on for hundreds of years, but that does not make it a natural state. How many of you know why this war began? You may know why we are fighting now, but do you know why it started? This was a war between the humans and elves, not between the humans and half-elves. But somewhere along the lines it switched, the elves left the battlefields and the half-elves picked it up. Yet no one stopped to wonder how an enemy could change. We came up with a new reason to fight and continued.

"War is not a natural state and yet that is how we treat it. Do we like war? No, it further oppresses the oppressed and makes us live in fear. Half-elves, humans, even the elves hiding in their city, no one likes this war! But we keep dragging it out. We keep changing our reasons for fighting so that we can fight longer. We are going to be our own downfall. Already it has begun to happen! We have been killing one another for near a thousand years, but now we are beginning to go even farther. The weapons being developed to fight this war will be the down fall of every one of us. I fear for the Great tree. If we lose it, we lose everything.

"Now you may not want to listen to me. These things may be frightening and new. Or perhaps you cannot bring yourselves to trust a half-elf. But listen and…"

"You're a half-elf?" Everyone had been sitting in stunned silence as she spoke, no one had moved. They had all been shocked. But when the woman spoke of her race, the group had been brought into action. One man stood up and shouted and the rest of the restaurant followed suit.

Kratos and Yuan looked at one another. They nodded in silent agreement and then sprang into action. Yuan ran to the front of the restaurant and grabbed the woman by the wrist. Kratos took the little boy.

"Come on!" Yuan shouted and the four of them ran from the restaurant. The woman and Yuan were running very quickly, but the little boy could not keep up. Kratos picked him from the ground and sped up. Ahead of him Yuan dodged into the hotel and Kratos followed his lead. Outside the mob ran by.

"What was that?" The man at the desk asked looking out the window at the running mob.

"Some half-elves were spotted outside of town. They got riled up, we got caught in the crowd," Kratos told him. The man shook his head. Together the four walked up the stairs and entered into Kratos and Yuan's hotel room where Noishe looked up in surprise. They were all quiet as they caught their breaths.

"Who are you people!" The little boy finally shouted, panting as he looked up at the two friends angrily. Kratos opened his mouth ready to answer with some safe lie, but Yuan spoke first.

"I'm Yuan. This is Kratos. We're traveling around together looking for work. I wouldn't want to see a fellow half-elf hurt so I helped you. Kratos here is human, but he's a pretty decent guy. You've heard of his father, he's…"

"YUAN!" Kratos said. Yuan looked at his friend in surprise.

"What?"

Kratos just looked at him. Yuan stared back and averted his eyes.

"Sorry…"

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Martel stared. She watched the two men in amazement. They were looking at one another very expressively. As if they were having a conversation without speaking. As if they knew one another so well that no words were needed to get the point across. But that wasn't exactly why she was staring. She had found exactly what she had been looking for.

"I'm sorry we've caused you so much trouble. I was simply trying to spread my message of peace, but apparently I've caused even more trouble. I'd like to thank you. My name is Martel and this is my little brother Mithos. I…"

" Brother!" Yuan said excitedly. Martel looked up in surprise.

" Er, yes, brother…" The man's eyes shone as he laughed and repeated the word.

"Can you believe that Kratos. He's her brother. Her little brother," He turned to his friend , but the human only looked back in confusion.

"Yes, that's what she said…"

"What about it?" Mithos said moving toward the older half-elf. Sensing that Mithos wanted to fight, Martel took the back of his shirt and pulled him closer.

"Well, you were both very hopeful and I was wondering...if it's not to much trouble… Well you saw today that what we're doing can get dangerous, so… Will you travel with us for protection?" She asked.

Three of the males in the room stared at her in shock, the fourth barked happily.

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That chapter was longer than I expected. Don't get used to it! So anyway they've met now and everything is in place for them to carry out their life changing fates. Characterizing Martel and Mithos is more nerve wracking than characterizing Kratos and Yuan. Yuan was easiest, he's not too different from the game, just goofier and more relaxed. You know, at home Yuan instead of business Yuan, although he will get a little more serious. Kratos was only hard because I made him a little coward as a kid and I didn't want to offend any fellow Kratos fans. But Mithos, I have to make him a cute and somewhat likable little kid, but also a future evil. Sort of like Anakin Skywalker only I hope this is better than episode one. (I shudder at the thought of Jar-jar). Martel's hard too because, dammit she's a future goddess (sort of) and I have nothing but myth to base her on. That and Mithos's obsession. Hoped You liked it anyway.


	3. Chapter 3

I am a bad person… I am so sorry I haven't updated. I know it's been over a month and I am really sorry. It's been crazy, I think it started with a heat wave that kept me out of the computer room, then there was vacation, a new computer (that was a mess, our documents didn't transfer right or anything), then there was summer reading essays, and then there was school and my brother going off to college. I'm so sorry. Another reason, I go on hiatuses is that both my father and grandfather have been going in and out of the hospital. They both have cancer. My dad is fine now, but he still has to go back for chemo and stuff. On top of all of that I sort of had writers block so it wasn't like I had this great desire to run to the computer with some great new idea.

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"What?" Mithos shouted looking at his sister. He was horrified. He and Martel didn't need anyone else, not so long as they had each other. She couldn't ask these men to come, it was just wrong. Why did she want them anyway? They'd always gotten along just fine.

Now it was true that only recently had they reached human territory, before that the siblings had mostly been preaching to half-elves, a considerably safer practice. But still something seemed wrong. His sister seemed to have made this decision so quickly; she hadn't thought it through like she normally did. Martel always though things through before she did anything.

"I think they should come with us. We can't protect ourselves Mithos, all I have is healing magic, and you haven't been trained to use magic at all. These men are obviously hardened travelers." Martel said to Mithos. She looked at him very seriously as if she wanted to say more than she had. Mithos just stared back feeling tears begin to appear at the corner of his eyes. He wiped them away quickly before anyone could see.

"But Martel we don't need anyone. Just each other!" Mithos told her. Martel let out a sigh and turned to look at the men.

"I'm sorry could you excuse us for a minute," Martel bowed slightly and then led her brother out of the room.

"Mithos," she whispered kneeling down to look him in the eye. " Can't you see why I want them with us? They are exactly what we've been searching for. They're a human and a half-elf and they're friends. I want to get to know them better, and see what the two of them have that no one else does."

"But…" Mithos began. He still didn't want them to come, but he could see what his sister meant. "Why didn't you just say that?"

"I want them to act natural around each other. If I told them I was trying to figure out how their friends they might act differently. I want to see they're friendship in it's natural state."

Mithos kicked the floor and then looked up at his sister. At least, he thought to himself, this doesn't mean she needs them. He didn't feel quite so much like his place was threatened, but still he didn't want to travel around with a human and some guy who stared at his sister.

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"She's beautiful isn't she?" Yuan said staring at the door. "This is perfect Kratos, finally something to do with our lives besides taking pathetic little jobs. We can have some real adventure, Kratos, we can get some use from our fighting skills, we can make a difference in the world!"

Kratos sighed heavily and gave his friend a look that said I have no desire to make waves and I like traveling around to those pathetic little jobs.

"You do not!" Yuan said sharply to his friend.

"I didn't even say anything," Kratos replied. Yuan rolled his eyes and then promptly went back to staring at the door like it was some kind of goddess. Kratos watched his friend intently; he was beginning to wonder if this was more than Yuan's usual crush. Yuan was constantly going after one girl or another, even if he wasn't actively pursuing someone he was still looking. But he never actually loved any of them, his little speech at lunch had said that clearly enough. But now Yuan was staring in a way that Kratos had never seen before. And he wasn't even looking at the woman, but the door that stood between them.

"You actually like her don't you?" Kratos said, his voice was bland but the emotion was in his eyes. They had grown wide in interest and Yuan was caught off guard when he turned around.

"Yeah, I guess so…" Yuan said. There was a moment of silence as the two men looked at each other, each surprised by the other. Yuan broke the moment. "I mean look at her Kratos she's a goddess. And I don't just mean her body, her eyes, her face, her hair, her... her… everything!"

"No, true love at first sight, eh?" Kratos chuckled to himself. " Fine we can go with them. It's nice to see you actually respect a woman for a change."

"Since when is this your decision anyway?"" Yuan asked half-glaring half-putting as he spoke.

"Because you can't be trusted to make mature decisions for yourself," Kratos replied. "I doubt you've put much thought into this. You are aware how much harder it will be to get around, that we'll have to live off the land? It will be harder to sneak around with them. They look more like half-elves than you. They don't have round ears to help camouflage…"

"I told you not bring that up!" Yuan said clasping his hands over his ears.

"Sorry"

"Besides Kratos, you're worrying to much. We can take things as they come, no need to think about it now." Yuan told his friend. Kratos shook his head slightly telling himself there was no use in arguing about this.

The door opened and the two siblings came back into the room. The little boy seemed pacified, but he still refused to look up at his new traveling companions. There was an awkward silence, as everyone stood in the room, unsure of what to do next. The only noise was Noishe happily thumping his tail on the ground.

"We should get going, those people will be looking for us, it's not safe to stay here," Kratos said to break the silence.

"Why do we have to listen to you? Just because your human you think you can make the rules! Is that it?" Mithos shouted angrily. Kratos looked at him in surprise.

"Uh, no I was just…" He began.

" Yeesh kid, there's no need to jump on his back. Kratos was just saying what he thought." Yuan said, he then added to Kratos. " I thought I'd finished defending you from little kids along time ago."

Kratos glowered at his friend and then sighed heavily. The woman began to apologize profusely for her brother and Yuan was blushing and telling her everything was fine. The little boy simply glared at the human, who continued sighing. Unless that child opened up this was going to be a long a hopeless journey.

"He's right though Mithos, we should get going. Thank you two so much for coming with us, it will be a burden off my mind." She pulled her brother closer to her and then bowed politely pulling the boy down with her.

"Oh it's… it's nothing, we like to… you know… help. Just wait a sec as we grab our bags and get the dog ready and and uh stuff," Yuan stumbled through his words ungracefully. Kratos smiled to himself, he had never seen Yuan like this. Normally his half-elf friend could smooth talk any woman; it was becoming increasingly clear how different he felt about this woman.

"Our things are already ready Yuan," Kratos said simply reattaching their bags and weapons to Noishe's back.

"Really? That was fast!" Yuan asked in surprise.

"We never really unpacked," Kratos pointed out.

"Oh, oh yeah…"

--------------------------------------------

A few hours later found the newly established group walking down a quiet country road. Yuan and Martel walked in front talking happily. Yuan had grown more comfortable as they walked and had regained the ability to form complete sentences. Yuan said something witty and Martel laughed. Yuan's eyes shown as he looked at her, he thought how very beautiful her laugh was, something about it reminded him of bells. Martel was looking at Yuan as the two of them walked. She found him surprisingly easy to talk to. He seemed so easy going and laid back, even if slightly embarrassed. She had never talked to anyone like him. The elves she had known during childhood were a very uptight and strict people, and her little brother had a deep intensity. But the man she spoke to know didn't have any of that.

Behind the happy half-elves walked the rest of the group. Mithos and Kratos stood awkwardly side-by-side. Each of them was becoming uncomfortably aware that they had been abandoned. Mithos, who had never really known anyone but his sister, and Kratos, who had had no friends but Yuan, felt completely ignored and denied of attention. Every so often they would glance over at each other and than quickly look forward, as if fascinated by Yuan's flirting. Neither of them knew how to address the other without guidance so they walked in silence.

Kratos chanced another glance at Mithos. He hadn't noticed before but the boy was looking tired. There was sweat on his face and his eyes seemed to have glazed over. When he noticed Kratos looking at him the small half-elf managed to glare at him. Kratos sighed, for the umpteenth time that day. As much as he didn't want to talk to the little human hating stranger, he didn't feel that he could simply leave the child to make himself sick.

Dropping back to wear Noishe padded along, Kratos began to unload some of the bags. Mithos watched him, trying not to look either tired or interested. Kratos ignored the nasty looks he was getting and hoisted a couple of bags onto his back. He figured he had taken enough weight from the animal that he could now support the boy.

"Hey, um Mithos, I think it was. Would you like to ride him?" Kratos asked.

Mithos let himself fallback besides the protozoan. Kratos watched as the boy inspected the animal carefully. Noishe observed Mithos was an equal amount of interest. The human let himself smile; the curiosity of the child was cute.

"What's his name?" Mithos asked. It was the firs thing he had said to Kratos since yelling at him earlier.

"His name is Noishe, he's a protozoan." He answered.

"I know that!" Mithos snapped. But he then looked back at the animal. "Hi Noishe. My name's Mithos it's nice to meet you." Kratos continued watching the boy. He was very serious, even about talking to a dog. As mature as he acted, and as smart as he was he was still a little boy, and it still showed.

Having some to some sort of peace with Noishe, Mithos decided that he would indeed ride. He tried to climb up onto the animals back a few times but only managed to land in the dirt. Seeing a tear of frustration appear in the boy's eye, Kratos leaned forward and picked him up. Kratos set the child gently on his pets back, and then urged Noishe to hurry and catch up to Yuan and Martel who were speeding down the road without a backwards glance.

"Thanks…"Mithos said grudgingly.

"Your quite welcome," Kratos replied, and they continued they're silent walk.

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That night they all set up camp. On one side of the fire, Yuan and Kratos laid out their bedding, and on the other side Martel and Mithos settled in. They ate dinner from the siblings' supplies as Martel and Yuan continued to talk. Mithos and Kratos simply listened, having no desire to enter the conversation.

"So Kratos," Martel said politely trying to extend the conversation, " how was it exactly that you two met?"

"It's a long story," Kratos replied shortly trying desperately to keep out of the conversation. Yuan made another less tactless short explanation.

"I'm his slave,"

"What? You're his slave! Why are you hanging out with him? We could free you, you know. We could take him we could…" Mithos began shouting before Martel pulled him close and covered his mouth.

"Surely there's more to the story than that?" She said looking from one man to the other.

"You explain," Kratos told Yuan.

"Yes Master," Yuan replied laughing as Mithos began again to shout about injustice. "Heh heh, I'm joking, it's nothing. I'm his slave simply because he can't access his bank account until he turns twenty-one. My papers are in there where no one can get at them. His parents get reach them without him and he can't reach them without his parents. So until then I belong to him. Hell, not even the commander of the human army could reach those papers." Yuan added this last part with a poorly concealed wink to Kratos.

"Yuan was given to me when I was eight years old, but we've always gotten along. So it was never really any thing but a friendship." Kratos said quickly.

"Except when I hated you," Yuan added.

"You hated me? I never hated you?" Kratos asked looking truly concerned. Yuan was caught off guard by the surprise in Kratos's voice. The human had a look on his face that was rare now, but had been incredibly common in his youth. Kratos looked emotionally hurt.

"It's nothing Kratos. Don't worry about it." Yuan told him. There was a silence as the two men looked at each other. The siblings looked back and forth between the two, trying to see what would happen. Finally Mithos grew bored.

"You guy's are weird I'm going to sleep."

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So there is your brand new chapter. I hope you enjoy it. I'll try to post often, but really things are crazy with my grandfather in the hospital, so I don't know if I can promise anything.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello again everyone. I'm gonna to update more often. Although as the last gap between chapters was the longest yet, it shouldn't be hard to do better than that. Also I'd like to thank all the people who said that they hoped my grandfather would get better. So um, thank you! Yeah, I don't really have anything else to say here. I'll try to get better with spelling, I really will. I should make my friend read through and edit. But I really wanted to get that last one up because I'd waited so long to actually write it. Some day I should go back and fix all my mistakes….

Anyway I don't own Tales of Symphonia.

A few days had passed since Kratos and Yuan had joined up with Martel and Mithos. Nothing much had changed since that first day, Martel and Yuan still did nearly all of the talking, Mithos still glared at his new comrades, and Kratos spent more time with his pet than with anyone else. The only changes were slight, they all knew each other's names now, and Martel and Yuan were trying to remember to pay attention to their individual charges. Although neither Mithos nor Kratos would admit they needed attention.

Their surroundings had changed slightly as they walked; each new town seemed slightly more frantic. None of the travelers had expected the towns to be peaceful, after all they were walking along the border, but they were beginning to get the feeling that they were becoming closer to the actual battles.

Because of this they had continued camping instead of sleeping at the town inns. It was simply too dangerous to stay amongst people with a heightened fear of half-elves. In fact the only thing the males all agreed on was that it was far too dangerous for Martel to give any speeches. At least once in each town they came across some one being falsely accused of being a half-elf and being dragged away.

One night they sat around the fire. Yuan was trying to do some cooking to impress Martel and Kratos and Mithos were both rubbing Noishe's belly and not looking at each other. Martel was searching for something in her pack.

"I still think it's weird. You know how all these people are acting? Something's not right," Yuan said as he poked a fork at the sausages he held in a pan above the fire. Mithos looked up from Noishe's white tummy and rolled his eyes.

"It's got to be the battle. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw soldiers soon." Mithos answered. Yuan was surprised; it was the first thing Mithos had voluntarily said to him that had nothing to do with Martel. He did not have much time to be surprised however, because Kratos looked up frantically, his face rather pale.

"Do you really think that we'll run into soldiers? Human ones?" He asked.

"Why? Did you abandon your army or something?" Mithos said accusingly. Not wanting to be in the middle of things Noishe yawned and got up.

"No. It would just be a pain to deal with them. I'm the only human in the group it will be harder to get humans to listen to us than half-elves," Kratos lied quickly. Yuan thought to him self how sad it was that the two of them could lie so well.

"It doesn't matter if we do run into humans. You guys are supposed to be fighters right? We'll just get a chance to see how good you really are. My sister can heal so that's not a problem," Mithos explained matter of factly.

"What can you do?" Yuan asked, he didn't like the tone in the little boy's voice and he wanted to shut him up.

" I can… I… I…" Mithos flushed in anger and embarrassment. " I could be a great mage if some one would just teach me!"

"Well don't look at me. I'm bad with kids." Yuan responded, tasting his dinner. "Hey this actually doesn't suck!" He added in surprise.

"I found it!" Martel cried. The three men turned, they had almost forgotten she was there. In her hand she held a panpipe. Mithos smiled.

"Are you going to play?" He asked. She nodded.

The rest of the night was more restful. There was no more discussion of the war or fighting. The simply ate to their hearts content, then laid back and listened while Martel played her music into the night.

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Far to early the next morning the travelers again found themselves walking.

"This would be so much better if we actually had a destination…"Yuan mumbled to Kratos.

"I'm beginning to think it might be wise to head back into half-elf territory for awhile. The humans are far too tense to give her words a chance," his friend answered. Yuan gave Kratos a sidelong look that said he doubted anyone at any time would give her words a chance; but he said nothing out loud.

"Let us try one more town before we make any suggestions." Kratos said. Yuan nodded and walked a little faster to catch up to Martel. Kratos sighed heavily, as Mithos road by glaring at him. Everything just seemed so futile

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Around noon they came in sight of a town, and almost immediately they sensed that something was wrong.

"What is that beyond the town?" Martel asked, pointing into the distance. On the other side of the town, instead of trees or another seemingly endless stretch of field, was a mass of navy blue. None of her comrades gave an answer, but everyone kept their eyes on it as they came closer.

"They're tents…" Yuan said a little farther down the road.

" Are you sure?" Martel asked squinting.

" Positive, look at them, they're tents," The blue haired half-elf responded.

"Who would have tents that close to the town?" Mithos asked in a way that showed he thought Yuan was stupid. "No one." He answered his own question.

"Oh no." Kratos said stopping in his tracks. The half-elves turned around to look at him. "It's the army."

"Ah shit," Yuan swore loudly. "Sorry," He added quickly looking at the two siblings.

"There is nothing to worry about," Martel said calmly. "We will simply go into the town as normal. If we run from the army we will be nothing but cowards. It is them I need to speak to the most. I'm going to speak to their leader."

The three men all stopped and stared at Martel as she continued down the road. All of their mouths hung open and their eyes were wide. Finally Yuan broke the silence with a snortish laugh.

"You're kidding…" He said. Martel didn't even turn around; she simply walked on.

"She's not kidding," Yuan mumbled half to himself and half to his other male comrades.

"She's not kidding," Kratos repeated.

"Dammit…" Mithos swore under his breath. They remained unmoving, watching as Martel walked farther and farther away.

"There's no changing her mind now is there?" Yuan asked Mithos, although he knew the answer that would come.

"There's no talking to her when she gets like this. She's convinced that she's going to stop this war with words, and that's what she's going to do." Mithos sighed heavily and looked at his sister with a tired expression that belonged to someone of considerably more years. "Let's make sure she doesn't get killed." Mithos urged Noishe onward and went to catch up with his sister.

"I'm more worried about the two of us," Yuan said weakly.

"Let's just pray my father isn't there," Kratos grumbled. They looked at one another, sighed, and chased after the siblings.

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By the time Martel reached the entrance to the city all of the boys had caught up with her. She walked in without second thought. Her face was set and her eyes shone with determination; she walked with pride and looked straightforward. Behind her, however, her comrades walked with less determination. Mithos was now leading Noishe with his eyes darting every which way. Yuan was watching Martel and listing every swear he knew under his breath. Kratos was simply hanging his head, only looking up suddenly if he heard something suspicious.

"I say we stop and eat first," Yuan said breaking his chain of swears in a last ditch effort to distract Martel.

"We hardly have any money left," Martel pointed out. " Perhaps the camp's leader will serve some food."

Her companions stared back simultaneously thinking 'not to you'. She was looking back at them, her empathy somehow failing to read the looks on their faces, when Kratos's eyes grew huge and he veered off into an alley way. A second later Yuan followed suit, leaving the two siblings standing in the street with Noishe looking very confused.

"Sir, is he coming today?" A soldier said, he was walking down the street in the direction of the half-elves. Besides him came another military man who, judging by his clothes, was of a higher rank.

"That was the plan, but I'm beginning to think he will be late. He has so much business to attend to, he often gets held up."

"But General Everard, everything is already prepared. We'll be heading further into the half-elf lands soon enough, we need our commander. I mean the base has already been buil…"

"That's supposed to be a secret you idiot," General Everard whispered harshly as he hit the soldier.

"Sorry sir… I'm just saying we really need him. We need a real leader at a time like this," the soldier said.

"What, pray tell, is wrong with me?" General Everard asked with strained politeness.

"Well, I mean, you did lose your job at the school. If they can't trust you with kids…"The soldier received another smack.

"Just shut up. We'll keep the men here until Commander Aurion arrives. I don't care how restless the men are, and I don't care how restless the people are. We are waiting until our leader has arrived!" The conversation was over and the two men hurried down the street. Mithos was worried now and pulled his sister and the protozoan down the same alley that Yuan and Kratos had hidden in. The two grown men were leaned up against the wall where they had been listening to the conversation the siblings had just witnessed. They were both extremely pale especially Kratos who looked like he was stuck in a nightmare.

"Martel we have to get out of here," Mithos said deciding to ignore the men.

"But Mithos…."

"The kid is right Martel. We can't stay here, we'll all be killed," Yuan broke from his fear and joined the conversation.

"But this is the perfect chance. If we can talk to the commander it will be like addressing the whole army. This is chance sent from the spirits," Martel answered.

"No Martel. It will be like dieing. The human commander is crazy. It doesn't matter how much reason you use he doesn't care,"

"Surely he cares about his own people?"

"That asshole doesn't care about his own son." Yuan answered darkly.

"How would you know that?" Mithos asked, never one to pass up a chance to make Yuan look like an idiot.

"Because… I… I just know okay?" Yuan barked back. "Listen we have to get out of here now, and we have to do it without drawing attention to ourselves. We never should have come here in the first place."

"Maybe we could speak to that General first then…" Martel suggested trying desperately to keep some of her original plan.

"No, that man will just try to keep us here and get on his bosses good side. We have to leave NOW," Yuan shot her suggestion down immediately.

"Don't talk to her like that! She's just trying to help people!" Mithos shouted at Yuan.

"STOP SHOUTING! Let's just turn around and leave, and stay quiet all of you," Kratos said suddenly. He had taken the weapons from where they hung at Noishe's side. He handed Yuan the double-edged blade and kept his own sword and shield at hand.

"Mithos get on Noishe's back incase we have to run. Martel, I'm sorry but staying here would be suicide. If you want my suggestion we should head back to the half-elf side until the army has cleared away… if that ever happens," Kratos ordered.

For a moment the rest of the group just stared at him, then they moved to comply. Quickly and quietly they moved back towards the city's entrance, both men kept a good grip on their weapons and looked around to see if anyone was coming. Kratos stayed in front keeping a look out for anyone he knew. He was just about at the gate when someone came out of a bar right ahead of him. They bumped into one another and when Kratos opened his eyes he found himself looking at his old training teacher.

Behind him Yuan swore very loudly.

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That chapter was longer than I had expected. Sometimes I struggle to reach three pages and sometimes I just keep going. I hope it's a little more exciting than things have been in the past. But really more happened in the last chapter, but this one was longer. Maybe it was all the dialogue. Hmmm.


	5. Chapter 5

It has been seven months since the last time I updated. I won't beg for forgiveness, I won't type the word sorry fifty consecutive times in all capitals, it is too late for that. Instead I have written seven chapters, one for each of the seven months (October, November, December, January, February, March, and April) in which I fell off the face of the earth. All seven chapters are already written, and I will post them each about one or two days apart over the next week. I hope this makes up, in some way, for my dissapearance.

Unfortunately during these past seven months I did not acquire Tales of Symphonia.

* * *

Chapter 5 October

Kratos and General Everard stared at one another for what seemed like an eternity. Neither of them was quite sure how to react so they just stared. Behind Kratos Yuan's mouth had run dry and he felt terror rising in his breast but he didn't move. The two siblings were watching the men uneasily.

_Why don't we just go?_ Mithos thought to himself. _He doesn't know we're half-elves, why don't we just go. _

"I know you! I know who you are!" A soldier who stood behind General Everard shouted excitedly. "You're commander Aurion's son!"

Kratos's eyes darted to the soldier and then quickly back to Everard, who was finally coming to his senses.

"Dammit, Kratos, run!" Yuan shouted. He smacked Noishe on his hindquarters, which sent Mithos off down the street. He then grabbed Martel and Kratos by the wrists and ran off after the protozoan.

"They have horses Yuan! We can't escape," Kratos shouted fighting against his friend's grasp. Yuan only pulled him closer.

"They're not going to bother getting horses Kratos! They're following us now. We just need to get out of here so we can fight them in a clearer area. Stop arguing and just follow Noishe!"

The three companions managed to reach the edge of the town before the gates were closed behind them. Unfortunately General Everard and a few of his men made it through the gates as well. Noishe had stopped and was panting by the side of the road; Mithos was staring at Kratos with a look of shock. Suddenly his eyes widened.

"Look out!" the little half-elf shouted. Kratos whirled around and held his shield above his head. Yuan let go of his friend and pulled Martel out of the way. General Everard had swung a large sword down at them. He pulled back his sword and Kratos swung his forward, and the two men began a fierce fight. Yuan let go of Martel's wrist and began to take on the two soldiers who had followed their general.

On top of the city wall an argument was going on about whether or not to open the gate. Martel went to Mithos's side to make sure he was all right, but the little boy was only watching the fight in front of him. Kratos and Yuan were using magic now, and he couldn't tear his eyes away. He hadn't known that Kratos could use magic. Martel sent a healing spell out to the two men every time they appeared to be wounded. With her help the human soldiers didn't stand a chance. Suddenly the fight was interrupted by a shout from on top of the wall.

"General Everard. He's here! Commander Aurion is here! He's just arrived in the camp on the opposite side of town. He wants to know where you are."

Silence reigned over the frozen battle for a moment, until Kratos broke it with his deep commanding voice.

"General, I think it would be better for the both of us if you simply let me go. I don't think my… father would appreciate it, if he found you beaten to a pulp out here. Especially if he found out that you'd lost me again. If you let us slip away quietly I'm sure your men would know enough to hold their tongues."

There was another deep pause as everyone waited to hear Everard's response.

"Fine," Everard said quietly. "Just go."

"Thank you," Kratos responded curtly. He beckoned his companions and the two siblings followed him hesitantly.

"It's a shame to say goodbye to you men so soon," Yuan said giving his opponents a mocking wave. "Next time we meet we'll finish this."

"Just go!" Everard shouted, and the four companions ran off into the field by the town, making their way towards half-elf territory.

* * *

The group was very quiet as they sat around the campfire that night. One reason for their silence was how exhausted they all were. They had run until they had collapsed and could go no further, they figured that they were far enough into half-elf territory to escape the clutches of the human army. They were camping where they had collapsed. 

Kratos sat off by himself stroking Noishe's long ears. Yuan and Martel sat awkwardly next to one another. Both of them wanted to talk, but were too concerned about upsetting Kratos and Mithos to actually do anything. Mithos was staring at Kratos intensely, his expression too difficult for even his sister to read.

"Mithos. Don't stare," Martel whispered sternly. She knew her brother's hatred for the human army, and she was concerned by how he might react to the news that their traveling companion was the son of the army's leader. Mithos sighed and looked up at her then turned back to Kratos.

"You can do magic," he said.

" …Yes," Kratos answered quietly.

" You ran away from the human army's commander."

" …Yes."

"You're the son of the commander of the human army, you can use magic, and your best friend is a half-elf."

"…Yes."

"You're the coolest human ever!"

The three older party members stared at the little half-elf in amazement. He was staring at Kratos with wide eyes and grinning from ear to ear. Neither Kratos nor Yuan had ever seen him at all happy, and even Martel had never seen him _this_ happy. Mithos got up and walked over to Kratos. He leaned over Noishe and smiled up at the human man.

"Can you teach me?" he asked.

" What?"

"Magic. Can you teach me how to use magic? Yuan said he's bad at teaching, but you can use magic too. Please teach me!"

"Well, you're a little young aren't you? You're only six years old," Kratos answered feeling unsure. He tried to catch Martel's eye, but she was too busy staring at her brother.

"But I can help. I know I can learn it, and I won't hurt myself. You guys need me! Please! We can ask Martel!" Mithos turned to his sister, "Can I?"

Martel nodded, and Mithos turned back to Kratos. He put his hands together as if pleading.

"I want to help my sister."

"…" Kratos looked down at the little boy and smiled. "Sure, I'll teach you, Mithos. But I can only teach you the basics, you'll have to figure the rest out for yourself."

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You won't be sorry. I'll be the best student ever. The next time we have a run in with the human army, I'll help you beat the crap out of them!" Mithos said excitedly.

"I'm sure you'll be great help to all of us Mithos," Martel said reaching her arms out to the child. He came to her obediently and she hugged him close. "But right now, you have to go to bed, no matter how excited you are."

Mithos, who was now feeling quite good-natured, nodded happily and got out his bedroll. After Mithos had snuggled deep into his blankets, the older three travelers moved in closer around the fire.

" I'm afraid we may run into the human army sooner than Mithos thinks…" Kratos said quietly. He reached out absent-mindedly to pet Noishe and discovered that the dog had gone to sleep with the little boy.

"Why do you think that Kratos? I mean we're in half-elf territory now," Yuan asked.

" Everard is bound to tell my… father that he's seen me."

"But Kratos when you threatened that man, it was obvious he didn't want you're father to find out," Martel said.

" He doesn't want my father to find out that he let me go. However, if he told my father that I was spotted nearby, he might actually gain favor…" Kratos explained.

" Still I think we're pretty safe over here. They're taking land as fast as they can anyway. I doubt they'll double their efforts just to find you. I'm sorry to say that you're not that big a deal Kratos," Yuan answered with a smirk.

"Very funny," Kratos responded.

"I'm not being funny, Kratos. You really are unimportant." The human glared at his friend, which only had the effect of making Yuan laugh. "Just relax Kratos. For once just relax. It's just the stars and the four of us right now. Forget about your old man. The only thing you have to think about is how you're going to teach the little brat."

Yuan stood up with a smile and went to get his bedroll. Kratos and Martel watched him, wondering how he could be so relaxed after the day's events. Just as he was about to settle in for the night Yuan paused in his movements. The two that sat around the fire thought that perhaps he was taking things seriously at last, but Yuan only turned to Kratos and wrinkled his nose.

"Just don't teach him too well, alright? I don't like what he said about being your best student _ever_."

* * *

So that was the first chapter of my redemption. I know it's a bit short, but I sort of like writing at a pace of about three pages per chapter. Most of the seven are about this length. 


	6. Chapter 6

Here is the second chapter of my redemption. I didn't get quite so many reviews as I have for past chapter. That might be because I didn't wait long enough, or that might simply be what happens when you seem to have to disappeared. Anyway I'd like to thank everyone who did respond, particularly Lady-Jana-Sparrow who reviewed before I got an e-mail from the site saying that I updated. I hadn't even seen my story listed yet, and she responded. That's just impressive.

I do not own Tales of Symphonia

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Chapter 6 November

The next morning Mithos was up before the sun. At first he simply yawned and rolled over with every intention of going back to sleep, but then he remembered that he was going to learn magic, and the excitement was too much. He took Noishe to a nearby stream where he washed up and changed, as well as made sure that the protozoan was well hydrated. He even made sure to have water ready for breakfast.

The sun reflected on the surface of the water beautifully and Mithos found himself watching the way it turned the little pebbles beneath its ripples into visions of gold. This was the sort of thing he normally overlooked, the sort of thing Martel was always pointing out. But of course he would notice such things today; this was a good day. Not only was he going to learn magic but also they were back in half-elf territory. They were back amongst their own kind. The only human anywhere nearby was one that Mithos himself had approved of.

"Come on, Noishe, let's go wake them up." Careful not to spill the bowl of water he was carrying the young half-elf chased after the furry green tail of his companion.

It only took a moment for the rowdy protozoan to rouse the sleeping adults, and soon enough they were up and confused. Mithos laughed and handed his sister the bowl of water. She regained her composure enough to thank him, before fumbling for her pack.

Breakfast was a quiet affair for the most part. The food supply was running thin, and there was something about bread and water that didn't make any of them feel completely talkative. As the meal was beginning to wrap up Yuan initiated conversation.

" So where do we go now?"

"Well, I suppose we ought to try and find the nearest town. The half-elves will probably listen to me, and we can restock our supplies," Martel answered him.

"I want Kratos to teach me something before we go anywhere," Mithos chimed in, before he was ignored.

"Personally I'm concerned by something that I over heard yesterday," Kratos added.

" You're always concerned," Yuan told him. "It doesn't mean anything. So ignoring Kratos and his neurosis, why don't we listen to Martel."

"You don't even know what I was refering to!" Kratos snapped back. Yuan looked up in surprise at Kratos's tone. It wasn't normally this easy to unsettle the human.

"Fine, Kratos. What it is it?"

"Yesterday, before our existence was made known to General Everard, we over heard him talking to a soldier. Not only did they mention the arrival of their commander, they also mentioned something about a base and going further into half-elf territory. It seems to me that either they've built a base exceedingly close to half-elf territory, or they've managed to secretly build a base over the border. Either way it could mean a great deal of danger for any half-elf villages that live close to the border. I don't know if there's anything we can do, but we can at least warn nearby villagers."

The three half-elves looked at Kratos in amazement. Not one of the three of them had paid any attention to this piece of information, and even if they had it was doubtful that they would have put quite so much time into mulling it over. Yuan was especially surprised. He had expected that Kratos would have been considerably more shook up after having such a close run in with his father. He gaped at his friend for a moment than smiled. Before he could talk however, he was interrupted.

"Let's fight them!" Mithos exclaimed, jumping to his feet and looking around at the sitting adults. "Once Kratos has taught me some magic we should go to that base and take it down. If we just warn people all they'll do is run. We can't just let the humans push the border further and further back. Let's kill the stupid humans!"

"Mithos!" Martel scolded, and the little boy at once calmed down and looked at her guiltily. " We want to stop this blood shed not encourage it. I think Kratos is right it's best if we simply spread the word. I think we should pack up and get going. The sooner we get to the next town the better; we have a lot to tell them."

The men nodded and immediately stood up. Yuan went to roll up his bed sheet, but was interrupted in his work by Kratos.

"Can you do mine too. I want to speak with Mithos," he asked.

"Um, sure," Yuan replied, confusion showing in his voice. Kratos, however, paid no attention to his old friend. Mithos looked up when he heard Kratos approach. He was slightly surprised to see the human over near him. He had been scolded and ignored during the earlier conversation and he had thought any lessons for the day would be out of the question.

" We don't have the time to have a real lesson today, but I would like to make sure that you're ready when we do start. In order to do magic you have to make sure that you focus on the element that you're trying to control," Kratos explained. Mithos listened in polite silence and nodded seriously. " While we're traveling I want you to be attentive of your surroundings. I've noticed that you seem to spend more time caught up in your own thoughts than taking in the view; I do the same thing myself. But in order to do magic you have to make sure that you can take a step out side of yourself. I want you to actively try to observe."

"I can do that!" Mithos said excitedly. "I'll take notice of everything just like Martel does. You'll see Kratos, I'll be the best student ever." Mithos gave Kratos a rare disarming smile before he dashed off to help his sister. A small smile crossed Kratos's lips as he watched the little boy bound off, suddenly he was interrupted by a voice from behind him.

" He keeps saying that best student thing. It's really beginning to bother me," Yuan grumbled. Kratos smirked at his friend and Yuan laughed. "Take your stupid bedroll, Kratos, we've got a long way to go."

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The sun was low in the sky when the companions at last reached town. Mithos laughed and ran on ahead, glad to at last be amongst his own kind. Martel followed her brother happily. It made little difference to her what sort of people populated the town, but she was glad to see Mithos in such good spirits. Yuan and Kratos stopped outside the wooden gate and stared off after the siblings.

"It's been twelve years since I was last in a half-elf town. Twelve years. I've really missed it. If this place is like my hometown you'll see that there's nowhere better to be. It may be poorer and more run down than any human town, but the people are endlessly more supporting. I bet they'll welcome us like family."

Kratos looked over at his friend and was surprised by the way Yuan's eyes were shining. The town was indeed run down. The houses were small and shoddily built, with thatched roofs and no panes in the windows. Most of the doors were open and Kratos could see that the same dirt that made up the streets made up the floors of the houses. A few of the larger houses had animals, such as goats, tethered in their yards. Children ran through the streets, most of them dirty and ragged, but happy. They were returning home now, called back by the smells of dinner that filled the air. Kratos was surprised by the number of children that went to some of the houses, it seemed as though there wasn't a single only child in the lot. The town was poor and simple and yet Yuan was staring as though it were holy.

"Come on Kratos, if we're quick we might get invited to dinner somewhere," Yuan shouted over his shoulder as he rushed off to find Martel and Mithos. Kratos hesitated before following: he had the feeling that no one would welcome _him_.

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The friends found their companions in the town's only inn, a modestly sized building that only had one room for visitors. It made most of its money by serving as a bar and eatery. Martel was chatting cheerily with the innkeeper as she made arrangements for a room. When Kratos and Yuan walked in Martel waved them over.

"I've been talking to this man and he said that there is a wonderful little store where we can restock and that there will be a service at the church in two days; I can give my speech then, and until then we can just relax."

Kratos had seen the church on their walk through town. It stood right next to the inn and was easily the biggest building in the entire village. It was also easily the cleanest, it was white washed wood and it had a small bell tower with a gleaming bell that had tolled as they walked by. What had captured Kratos's attention the most, howeve, were the windows. Unlike the empty windows of the town's houses, the church windows had colorful glass panes. Each of the windows depicted one of the eight summon spirits. Kratos had stood in the street and stared at the beautiful church, he had never seen one before. The humans had no religion to speak of, not anymore. Years ago they had worshipped the summon spirits, just as the half-elves did, but that had been long before Kratos had lived. Personally he didn't believe in such things as summon spirits, but still the church did look welcoming and beautiful.

"Finally we can relax!" Yuan said, breaking Kratos out of his reverie. Mithos walked over to the three adults from where he had been playing with Noishe in the corner.

"Have you ever been to a half-elf town before?" the child asked Kratos. The human shook his head, and Mithos smirked. "They're a lot better than human towns, I can tell you that much. Everybody knows everybody in a half-elf town, and if you're new they'll get to know you soon enough."

"Wait a moment," the innkeeper suddenly spoke causing the entire group to turn in his direction. He was a stocky man, for a half-elf, and he was in his later years. He had been watching them intently since Kratos and Yuan had come in, and the joyful expression he had worn when speaking to Martel had all but faded. "Is that man a human?"

"Don't worry. He's with us," Yuan told the innkeeper nonchalantly. He was about to turn back to Martel when the man spoke again.

"I'm not keeping one of those…those… tyrants under my roof. Either he goes, or you all go!"

"Shut up! I hate humans as much as the next guy, but Kratos here is fine!" Mithos shouted. The innkeeper opened his mouth to shout back when Martel interrupted.

"Please, surely you wouldn't leave a poor soul out in the cold. Isn't there somewhere he could sleep?" Martel's voice was calm but commanding. Her words may have been pleading, but her tone wasn't. She had no doubt that the man would listen to her reason. There was a long moment in which the man squirmed under the glares of both Mithos and Yuan. Kratos himself kept his face blank. He didn't know quite how to react.

"Fine," the man said suddenly. "He can sleep in the shed. But if he causes any trouble I'm holding you three responsible."

"My thanks." Kratos replied before any of his half-elves could speak. He gave a slight bow and left. Leaving the four half-elves behind him looking shocked.

Kratos walked out onto the street and noticed that the sun was beginning to set. The streets were empty now; everyone had gone home for supper. It was almost silent, the thin walls of the houses allowed some noise to pass through them. The voices were muffled, but Kratos could still hear the happy tone of the half-elves as they talked with one another. For a brief moment Kratos, felt totally and completely alone. He cast one skyward glance to the stars that were just beginning to appear overhead, before heading into the shed.

It was a very small structure, and Kratos just barely fit length wise when he rolled out his bedding and lay down to sleep. Noishe came to join him soon enough, making the shed immensely more cramped, if not somewhat warmer. Kratos let out a resigned sigh. He had seen half-elves live through worse conditions, and if they could do it so could he.

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When I first wrote this chapter I didn't really like it. I felt like nothing happened, but looking back I'm kind of fond of it. It felt a bit more like my first story, with the slower pacing and the rural feeling to it.

Oh, by the way, I created a Livejournal account, so if any of you have one you can talk to me. My user name is kidkratos. Look me up!


	7. Chapter 7

Here is the chapter for December, in case any of you are keeping track for some reason. This chapter, as well as the next two, moves kind of slowly. I wanted to take some time to establish what half-elf life was like and develop some of the characters a little more. I suppose maybe I shouldn't have put action/adventure as the genre, the action is weighed out by everything else.

Ah well, I don't own tales of Symphonia.

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Chapter 7 December

Sun streamed in through the window and across the bed where Yuan slept peacefully. His eyes twitched a little before he moved a heavy hand over his eyes. Unfortunately, he was already awake, and the sounds from outside wouldn't allow him to fall back into slumber. Groggily Yuan sat up and yawned. Suddenly his eyes flew open. It took a brief moment for Yuan to remember where he was and the reason Kratos wasn't around.

Yuan couldn't remember the last time that he and Kratos hadn't slept in the same room, and it was unnerving to wake up without him there to harass. Yuan had never been particularly fond of the morning, but Kratos had always made him feel better by having infinitely more trouble waking up. Yuan didn't have the heart to pull his regular tricks on Martel and Mithos, who snoozed happily in a bed farther away from window and its slatted shades. Martel looked beautiful in her sleep, with her long hair spread out across the pillow so that it framed her head like a halo. Mithos was curled up against her, and Yuan had to admit that the little brat looked considerably more innocent when he was asleep.

After he had changed, Yuan wrote a quick note to the siblings and headed into the tavern area of the inn. A few men were having their early morning meal and they greeted Yuan congenially. Yuan nodded in response before ordering some food from the innkeeper. The man handed Yuan his food without much chatter and acted as if he didn't remember the previous night.

With the food in hand Yuan stepped out into the morning. Most of the town's population was already awake and were beginning to go about their everyday work. It seemed as though everyone in the town had some job or another to do; women were out hanging laundry and milking goats, behind many of them young children followed to offer any help they could. The town's older children were heading out into nearby fields to work along side the town's men. There was even one old woman that sat outside with a baby and a few toddlers, so that their mothers could work without worry.

There was not a single young man in the entire town, at least not that Yuan could see. He wasn't surprised at all. Young men didn't stay home in times of war, particularly not when their people had only a militia to protect them. Yuan sighed for a moment and wondered how many of the children he'd seen were fatherless, he then shook his head and entered the shed in front of him.

Kratos lay on the floor of the shed curled up against Noishe. His only reaction to the opening of the door was to open one sleepy eye and then to bury his face into the protozoan's deep fur.

"Get up sleepyhead," Yuan sang with as much cheer as he could muster. Kratos sat up angrily and gave his friend a horrible glare; the half-elf just laughed. " I was going to ask if you slept well but it seems that you did. Well enough anyway."

"I slept fine, it just wasn't long enough," Kratos grumbled as he sat up. Noishe groaned a little when he felt the loss of his companion's warmth, but sat up and barked happily when he noticed Yuan.

"I brought you some food. I figured we could share breakfast," Yuan said as he handed over the meal to Kratos. "I have some for you too, Noishe."

"Is there any water? I want to wash up a little," Kratos asked as he took a bite from a hunk of bread.

"There's a basin in the inn. I'll sneak you in later when the owner isn't looking," Yuan told him. "Remember heated baths, Kratos? It's hard to believe we were ever that lucky."

Kratos didn't respond, he simply went on eating his meal.

"And pancakes, and cinnamon rolls, and pie, and…"

"Yuan. Shut up!" Kratos shouted. "I know there are plenty of things I used to have, just shut up!" There was a long moment in which Yuan stared blankly at Kratos who sat there seething.

"…and quiche."

Kratos gave an undignified snort and dropped the apple he had just picked up. He covered his mouth until his shoulders stopped shaking. Yuan simply let out a loud and easy laugh.

"It's not funny," the human said, trying desperately to sound serious. "We're not children; it's not funny."

"Yeah it is," the half-elf said matter of factly. "Quiche is a still a funny word and always will be." Kratos gave Yuan a crooked smile, before looking up in surprise as the door of the shack was opened once again. Yuan turned to look over his shoulder and saw Martel and Mithos framed in the doorway.

"You two seem happy," Martel said beaming at the two men, and inadvertently making them feel even more foolish.

"What's so funny?" Mithos demanded.

"Nothing," Kratos said, covering Yuan's mouth before he could talk. Mithos raised an eyebrow and looked up at his sister, but he didn't say anything.

"I was just about to go for a walk about town so that I could get to know the people better; I think it will add more impact to my speech if people feel they can trust me." Martel spoke easily and broke through the awkward tension between the two men and the little boy. " Would you three like to come?"

"I'd love to go with you, Martel," Yuan said hopping to his feet, at the same moment Mithos sat down and whined, "Do we have too?"

" You don't have to come if you don't want to Mithos, but I don't really want to leave you on your own…"

"I'll stay with him," Kratos volunteered. "It's probably best if I stay as hidden as possible anyway."

"That would be wonderful, Kratos, thank you." With that Martel and Yuan left the shack, leaving Mithos gaping on the floor.

"She can't go alone with Yuan!"

"Why not?" Kratos asked in a bored tone as he stood up.

"Because I don't like him!" Mithos folded his arms and pouted. Kratos hid a smile at the boy's illogic before holding out a hand and helping him up.

The man lead the child out of the shed and back towards the inn, so that he could clean himself up. The innkeeper had his back to them when they entered, so it wasn't difficult to slip into the next room. Mithos waited sulkily on one of the beds while Kratos cleaned himself up. The human couldn't figure out why Mithos hated Yuan so much. It seemed unreasonable to think that it all stemmed from a desire to protect his sister. Deep in thought Kratos didn't notice he was being watched until Mithos spoke.

" Are you shaving? Does it feel weird?" the little boy asked. He had gotten down of the bed and walked over to watch Kratos. " I wonder if I'll have to shave, I don't think elves get facial hair, so I suppose it'll be a fifty-fifty chance for me. Does Yuan shave?"

Kratos looked down at Mithos in surprise. The child wasn't normally much more talkative than he was himself. It didn't even seem as if the boy even wanted answers, he certainly wasn't waiting long enough to receive them. Kratos had cleaned his things up before he noticed the child was still watching.

"Well, does he?" Mithos asked.

"Yes," Kratos replied after a moment, "But sometimes I think he only does it because his manhood is easily threatened." Kratos smiled to himself when he heard Mithos laugh.

"Do you think Martel will be alright, out there alone?" he asked suddenly as Kratos was about to open the door. The human stared down at him as it occurred to him why the little half-elf was acting so strangely. He was uncomfortable without his sister and he didn't quite know what to do. As far as he could gather, the two siblings had been traveling around together for almost the boy's entire life. This was probably one of the first times they'd really been separated, one of the first times he'd been left with someone else.

"I'm sure she'll be alright. She's smart, and she's with a good friend. She's in no more danger than you are." Mithos brightened up a little at this, and he walked past Kratos to open the door for him.

"Did you bring that human in here?! Do you know what people would do if they found out there was a human in my building? They'd clear out, I'd never make money again!"

" I had to get something," Mithos lied, but Kratos thought it would be better if they simply got out as fast as possible. Picking the child up, the human walked out.

Once they were outside, Kratos set the little boy down before sitting on the ground outside of the shed. He didn't want to go back in, but he knew it would be bad if he were noticed. He decided it might be best to simply sit where he was and try to look inconspicuous, although since half-elves could sense mana signatures he wasn't sure it would be much use. The only people out on the street at the moment were children, about Mithos's age and younger, and he hoped that they weren't skilled enough to pick up on his humanity.

"Why don't you play with them? I'm sure you never get a proper chance to spend time with children your own age, why don't you go have fun?"  
Mithos looked at Kratos warily but then nodded and ran up to the other children. Just as Yuan had said, the children welcomed Mithos into the game easily. In a mere minute Mithos was as much a part of their game as any of the children who lived in the town.

The children were playing some sort of ball game that involved trying to keep the ball on one side of the street while the other team tried to get it back. Apparently whichever team had the ball at the end of the round was the winner. Briefly Kratos wondered why they hadn't bothered coming up with some sort of scoring system, which would probably have made the game more fun. Suddenly he remembered that most half-elves lacked formal education, meaning they couldn't read or do any sort of arithmetic. Without numbers it would have been difficult to remember who had won more times. Or, he thought looking at the happy laughing faces of the children, it simply didn't matter who won in the end.

Kratos caught Mithos out of the corner of his eye and noticed that the little half-elf wasn't as cheery as the rest of the group. He was certainly playing with the other children, but his heart wasn't in it. Mithos had a competitive streak, which he displayed often enough in his behavior towards Yuan, so it was odd to see him playing a competitive game with such little enthusiasm. While the rest of the group ran shouting up and down the street, Mithos would frequently stop and look down the street. After only a few rounds of the game, Mithos said a quiet goodbye to his playmates and went back to join Kratos in his sitting.

"Why did you stop?" Kratos asked; he was becoming concerned about Mithos's behavior. After traveling with only adults, he would have thought the child would be grateful to play with children his own age. Mithos's only response was to shrug without looking up at Kratos.

"Don't you want to play with children your own age?" Kratos questioned further. He supposed it was possible that Mithos didn't generally get along with other kids. In his own childhood Kratos had often been butt of jokes and was almost constantly picked on. He had been a shy child and had often been mistaken for snobbish. Looking back, he had often preferred the company of adults, at least until he met Yuan. But Mithos was different. He might be just as quiet Kratos, but he wasn't shy or reserved. Besides the half-elf children hadn't been picking on him at all. There must have been some other reason that Mithos didn't want to socialize.

"We'll just be leaving in a day or so. I wouldn't want to get to know them or anything; it would make leaving harder." Mithos told Kratos without looking at him. "Do you think Martel will be back soon?"

Briefly Kratos considered talking to Mithos, it didn't seem fair for the child to exile himself from average childlike behavior in favor of waiting for his sister, but he said nothing about it.

"They'll probably be awhile yet. Why don't we go inside and I'll tell you a story alright?"

Mithos cheered up a little at Kratos's offer, and together the human and the half-elf walked back into the lonely little shed.

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Not much happened in this chapter, but I had fun building up Mithos. It's kind of fun to make him cute, so long as he still seems like the loss of his sister could drive him totally mad.

P.S. the quiche thing was a reference to _The Best of Friends_ the prequel to this story. If you haven't read it, I really suggest that you do. I think it makes this story richer, or at least more entertaining.


	8. Chapter 8

Here's chapter four from my hiatus. This chapter isn't very exciting, but it advances the plot a little if you've read the prequel.

I don't own Tales of Symphonia.

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Chapter 8 January

Yuan was having one of the best mornings of his life. He and Martel had been walking about talking to anyone they came across. Martel had spent a great deal of time talking to an old woman, and playing with the babies she was watching. It was rare to find a visually old half-elf. Half-elves generally didn't change much in appearance as they aged, except at the very fringes of life. From birth half-elves grew until they were through puberty; half-elf children aged about the same as humans. Yuan knew this much from experience, after all he'd known Kratos since they were both eight and there had never been any real difference. Well Kratos had hit puberty later than Yuan, but judging from the other human kids at Kratos's school, that was just Kratos.

After they were fully grown, half-elves aged extraordinarily slowly. For every hundred years of a half-elf's life he would age a little less than a human would in ten years. This meant that half-elves didn't really start to look decrepit until about their eight-hundredth or nine-hundredth year. With the war going on it was very rare for someone to live that long. It didn't matter if you were immortal if you got killed in battle in your youth. Martel had been interested in what the old woman had to say about the war, and although she wasn't quite young enough to remember its beginning her memories were still fascinating.

At least they were to Martel; Yuan hadn't really been listening. He had been watching Martel as she played with the babies. She was absolutely wonderful with them, even when she was paying attention to the old woman. Yuan found himself making scenarios that involved him and Martel raising babies together. Personally he couldn't imagine that some nine hundred year old biddy had anything to say that was more interesting than what he could imagine.

After leaving the old woman, Martel and Yuan had started off once again. Together the two of them talked easily. Martel slipped an arm through Yuan's and they walked along together in that fashion. Yuan found himself blushing at the contact, and he wondered why everything was so different with her than with other girls. In the past when Yuan had found himself with women the talking had always been the hard part. But Martel was so intelligent and so trusting that Yuan felt as if he would be doing her a wrong if he gave her anymore than his friendship, at least right now. If they did have a relationship someday down the road he wanted it to be a real strong relationship; she deserved that.

"I hope Mithos is alright…" Martel said breaking an amicable silence that had arisen during their conversation.

"What do you think will happen?" Yuan said in surprise.

"Well, nothing really bad. It's just that we've never really been apart since he was a baby. I'm worried about how he'll react. He does seem to respect Kratos though, so maybe he'll be alright."

"When you put it like that, I probably shouldn't have left Kratos. We haven't really been apart for the past six years either…"

"Oh no! We've probably left them all alone together feeling awkward and quiet. They're so unsocial; we shouldn't have left them!" Martel stopped walking and looked up at Yuan. There was real concern in her face, and Yuan knew she was thinking about going back.

"Listen, Martel," Yuan said putting his hands on her shoulders and looking her in the eye. "They're big boys they'll be alright without us." When this didn't work he tried another approach. "Martel, you deserve this. Kratos and I are here for you; you don't have to be the only one to watch Mithos. You deserve to have a little break." She was beginning to believe him, but she wasn't quite there yet. "If you don't give him a little break every so often, he'll become overly dependent on you. It'll be good for both of you." With that he'd won; she'd stay out with him a little longer.

The sun was already high in the sky and Yuan heard his stomach rumble. Martel laughed and smiled up at him, which caused Yuan to blush in emberasment.

"We should get something to eat…" Martel said.

"Ah, we can't go back yet," Yuan whined a little, "Do you think someone will invite us in."

"I wouldn't be surprised if one of the young women invited you in; you're the only man between fifteen and five-hundred in the entire town." This caused Yuan to blush more than ever before.

Taking his hand, Martel lead Yuan down the street to where they could see the older children returning from field work for lunch. Mothers began to appear at doorways and she was hoping that someone would be kind enough to invite them in. Yuan felt awkward waiting there and hoping to be noticed. Somewhere in his mind he knew that such behavior was common, even expected, but he had been removed for so long he was used to human expectations. However it wasn't long before someone called them over.

"Are you two visitors?" A woman called from the doorway of one house. She was a stern looking woman, very thin with pale brown hair that was pulled back in a tight bun. Martel and Yuan nodded.

"Well then, why don't you come on in? There is plenty to go around. I just need to wait until the little ones are back from their games and we can eat."

Together Martel and Yuan walked into the little house. Inside there was a little iron stove from which wonderful smells were coming out. Sitting at a table nearby was a boy who Yuan guessed was about twelve or so. He looked up at the two visitors but said nothing. Against one wall was a wooden bed that had probably once been painted a brilliant blue, but the paint was now pealing and faded. A door in the ceiling told Yuan that there was another room upstairs that the children probably slept in.

The woman came over to them and urged them to sit while she set the table. Yuan sat down without hesitation, but Martel offered to help. The woman shook her head and gave a look at her son, who gave a heavy sigh before standing up to help. Martel sat down and smiled at the boy, who immediately began to work harder. In a few minutes the table was set and three more children had entered the house. There were two twin girls that were about Mithos's age and a little boy who appeared to be slightly younger. After some brief confusion over how everyone could sit around the table a crate was found for the little ones rest on and everyone was able to eat.

"So what are your names?" Their hostess asked after they had all had a little to eat.

"My name is Martel Yggdrasill and this is…"

"Yuan. Just Yuan."

"You don't share a last name?" the woman said with a raised eyebrow.

"We're not married," Martel explained.

"We're not traveling alone either," Yuan added to clear things up. "I have a friend and her little brother is with us as well."

"Ah," said the woman, returning to her meal.

"We saw them," a little girl chimed in.

"Yes," her sister agreed. "We played with the little one."

"The big one seemed weird," said the youngest boy. "And the kid didn't play much."

The mother made a stern noise in her throat and fixed the boy with a piercing gaze. His brother just laughed. Martel and Yuan glanced sideways at one another, trying to connect amid the awkward silence.

"The food is wonderful," Martel said in an attempt to divert the conversation. Wonderful was a bit of an exaggeration. The food was okay at best. It was a simple meal, and small, exactly what one would expect from a large family in a small town. Yuan would never have complained; the woman had shared it with them out of kindness so he had no right to judge. But still, he couldn't help but think there were more honest ways to change the course of the conversation.

"Oh the foods not that good, really," the woman said to Martel. At first Yuan thought she was being modest, but she was glaring at the plate so intensely that he had to drop that theory. "My step-mother is a much better cook than I'll ever be."

The children nodded their assent, which only caused the woman to glower more.

"Oh," was all Martel could think to reply.  
"Sometimes I think that's why my father married her. He lives in the town over, and that's where he met her. He says he likes her because she showed such bravery, but I think it's because she can out cook me…" The children nodded their heads up and down again as their mother spoke. Martel opened her mouth as if to say something, but closed it again as if realizing there was nothing she could really say.

"How was she brave?" Yuan asked, deciding it was his turn to make conversation.

"She used to be a slave, but she managed to escape. She arrived with a group of other ex-slaves at the next town over about seven or eight years ago. Apparently they had overthrown their human master. He was some trader who kept slaves to help take care of his caravan animals and drive his carts. Although of course she was the cook. She was with him about four years or so, before that she belonged to some plantation. Anyway, when the caravan drew close to the border they overthrew their master and escaped. She says she only really followed the rest of the group, but my father worships her anyway."

Martel and Yuan stared at the woman in shock after she had spoken. It was quite a tale, and she had told it in a way that was almost begrudging. It was very rare for slaves to escape, for reasons Yuan knew far too well.

"What is her name? I'd like to speak to her when we reach that village." Martel asked.

"Her name? Oh, it's Hestia," the woman answered. Yuan paused for a moment. The name was familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why. He shrugged it off and finished his meal.

"We really ought to be going," Martel said when she had finished. "I have to check in on my brother. May the spirits bless you for your kindness."

They left quickly. Not wanting to linger any longer with the unpleasant woman and her children. Out on the street they turned back towards the direction of the inn, and began to walk together.

"Tomorrow let's not eat with a random family," Yuan said under his breath. Always polite, Martel didn't say anything, but she did smile slightly and avoid Yuan's eye.

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This chapter seems shorter than it actually is. I don't know how, it just does. The next chapter is about the half-elf church, and then things get exciting again!


	9. Chapter 9

I'm sorry that it took me so long to update again. My grandfather went back into the hospital and I got kind of neurotic, and convinced myself, against my better judgement, that my fanfic was jinxed. Every time I've gone back to working on my fanfic he's gone back to the hospital, and somewhere in my mind I decided that it was because the evil Commander Aurion is Lloyds grandfather. So I sort of convinced myself that if I updated he'd die.

But that's ridiculous and I shouldn't give into such superstition, particularly because I'd laugh at someone who was doing the same thing. So anyway here's the fanfic.

I don't own tales of Symphonia.

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Chapter 9 February

Kratos awoke early the next morning. He had gone to bed early the previous day, simply because there was nothing better for him to do. When Yuan and Martel had returned Mithos had abandoned him immediately in favor of his sister's company. He had actually spent a nice afternoon with the boy, after Mithos had given up on playing with the other children. The young half-elf had been fascinated by the tales of heroics that Kratos was able to recall from the books of his childhood. However, in the eyes of Mithos, no knight or pirate could ever be more fascinating than Martel, and so he left. Yuan had stayed briefly, although mainly to tell Kratos how wonderful Martel was. After he had gone back to the inn, Kratos was left with his dog, and so he slept.

For one of the few times in his life Kratos was glad to be up so early. After making himself look presentable, although he wasn't quite sure for who, Kratos opened the door to his shack. He had expected that no one would be out yet. The sun hadn't quite risen yet and Kratos could still see stars dotting the sky. However, before Noishe had even finished relieving himself half-elves could be seen coming down the dirt path in his direction. Yanking Noishe back, Kratos quickly closed the door on his little shack so that it was only open enough for him to peep through.

The half-elves looked considerably better than they had the previous day. Everyone, even the smallest child, was dressed in clean well cared for clothing, and each of them was freshly bathed themselves. More than anything, Kratos was surprised by how quiet they all were. The children had been incredibly wild the previous day, but now they walked quietly along, all looking straight ahead. Every so often a child would squirm or cry, but it was the exception not the norm. In all his life Kratos had never seen such a transformation come over an entire population before, and it took him quite some time to figure out what exactly was going on.

It was the church. Each and every one of them was heading towards the church that neighbored the inn. More so than the previous day, Kratos felt suddenly different and naïve. He'd never felt such a sense of unity from such a large group of people, and somewhere in the back of his mind he almost felt envious. He shook his head a little to get rid of the thought. It wasn't fair of him to want such a thing. His childhood was the sort of thing the people here could only dream of; he had no right to want what they had as well.

When at last the street was emptied Kratos saw the door to the inn open. Martel, Yuan, and Mithos all came out, closely followed by the innkeeper. The four of them turned towards the church, but Yuan hung back for a moment and let them enter without him.

"Come on Kratos," he said with a beckoning wave to his friend. "This'll be interesting for you, trust me."

"I'm not going, Yuan. Those people consider that building holy; I wouldn't want to desecrate it with my presence."

"Oh just give it a shot! They have no right to block you out of their church. Listen, you don't need to believe it; you just need to be respectful. Besides Martel's giving her speech afterwards, and she needs you to be there. She's gonna reference us as some sort of model of perfection, or something like that. You wouldn't want to disappoint her, would you?"

Cautiously Kratos stepped out of the protection of his shed, and into the morning light. Yuan smiled before turning to walk back towards the church. Kratos walked slowly after him. He had never been inside a church before, and he wasn't entirely sure what people did inside one. How exactly did these people go about worshipping their summon spirits? He supposed it was ridiculous to think that there would be some sacrificial slaughtering of livestock or something. However, no amount of reasoning could alleviate his apprehension as he looked at the dark wooden doors of the half-elven church.

"Oh just come on!" Yuan groaned, and grabbing Kratos by the wrist dragged him into the church. The feeling inside of the building was unlike anything Kratos had ever felt. Even without knowing or believing the church's credo there was still an undeniable sense of holiness. Inside of the church there were rows and rows of simple wooden pews that all faced towards a simple wooden pulpit. The walls were whitewashed and there were actual wooden planks on the floor. Yuan lead Kratos to a pew in the back where they sat besides Martel and Mithos. It was not until they were sitting that Kratos noticed the way that the light was shining through the windows.

It was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. The pictures of the summon spirits glowed as the sun came through them, and they reflected their colors onto the floor. They were truly beautiful pictures and Kratos found himself trying to name them all. From where he was sitting he could see six windows, showing pictures of the summon spirits of fire, ice, water, lightening, wind and air. He had seen the other two windows as he entered the church, the spirits of light and darkness were reserved places besides the door.

There was a ninth window up at the front of the room. It was high above the pulpit, a circular window with a spirit Kratos had never seen before. It was a four armed spirit, and he couldn't figure out what exactly it was the spirit _of_. He'd have to ask Yuan what it was later. Bothered Kratos decided to look away from it.

The window nearest to Kratos had a picture of Gnome, the summon spirit of earth. He found himself leaning forward to stare at it. He wondered, vaguely, how someone could worship such a strange looking creature. Yuan pushed Kratos back into his seat and put a finger to his lips.

"Pay attention, Kratos!" Yuan whispered harshly. "Don't draw attention to yourself."

Embarrassed, Kratos sat back. It wasn't often that Yuan was the more mature of the pair, and it was humiliating to be caught acting like a child. Facing forward and keeping his gawking to a minimum, Kratos at last began to pay attention to the sermon.

A tall thin half-elf with pale red hair stood at the pulpit speaking energetically about the spirits. He was dressed in a simple black robe and around his shoulders hung a cloth that had been carefully embroidered with pictures of the summon spirits. It was an old accessory, obviously once a vision of beauty but now it was faded and pale.

The sermon that the man was giving was all about giving thanks to the spirits who helped to keep the vegetation out in the fields alive. Undine with her precious waters, Aska and Luna who gave the plants light, and Gnome who kept the earth fertile. The way the man spoke was so pationate and so beautiful that Kratos couldn't help but listen intenley. He had never really known much about the beliefs of Half-elves and it was fascinating to hear about everything first hand. The way the man spoke made it seem as though every aspect of life was connected to nature, and Kratos found himself wondering whether that was the reason humans had stopped worshipping the spirits.

Human society was extraordinarily disconnected from the more natural aspects of life. There was always a feeling of competing with nature. Everything the humans did, from building huge cities to creating magi-technology that used mana so unnaturally, seemed to be a challenge to the world. In his travels with Yuan, Kratos had often come across rural human towns, but they had followed their city dwelling brethren and had lost all belief in the spirits as well. Here, in the half-elf village they judged the weather to be a result of sentient beings, in the human villages they simply cursed their luck. Where the humans had an animosity, the half-elves had an uneasy truce, and if the little Kratos had heard about elves was true, they got along with nature almost perfectly.

When the sermon at last came to its end, Kratos leaned over to talk to Yuan. He wanted to ask whether this was what his old church had been like and who the spirit in the round window was. However, the man at the pulpit soon called Martel up so that she could speak. All eyes turned towards Martel as she stood up and bowed her head graciously. With a quiet dignity she walked down the aisle and up to the pulpit.

" Hello everyone. I'd like to speak to all of you about the war that is going on. I know that each and every one of you has been deeply affected by the war. I have no doubt that it is constantly on your minds, but I would like for all of you to look at this war on a more global scale. I know that you probably feel you are victims in this war, and in many ways you are. If in anyway you feel that I've undermined the sorrows you have suffered, I apologize; I mean no offense. I simply mean to say that we all must observe our own behaviors everyday. It is easy for us to simply blame the humans entirely for the war, but that is completely unreasonable of us. This war is not the fault of either race, it is the fault of our inability to get along. No, it is not an inability; it is a failure to try! Too many of us have simply given up on any chance of a friendship between half-elves and humans. In our fear of anything new, we have decided that it is impossible. But it isn't.

" I have spent a long time searching for some proof that an end to this war is not impossible. Many times I began to doubt myself; I began to think that perhaps there was no way for a friendship to be forged between humans and half-elves. I have at last, however, found the proof I was looking for. During a brief excursion into the human territory, I at last found what I was searching for. I have with me, a human and half-elf who have a stronger friendship than any I have previously seen. Could you two please stand up?"

Awkwardly, Kratos and Yuan rose to their feet and allowed themselves to be introduced. The half-elves in assembly, who had all been quite up until now, broke out into frantic whispered conversation. Both friends felt uncomfortable with the accusing eyes of the congregation upon them, but they simply kept their own eyes focused on Martel.

"Kratos and Yuan have been close friends since their childhood. They have each taken risks for the other. Neither of them is afraid to fight and die for the other. If a friendship this strong can form between a single set of half-elf and human, who is to say that more bonds cannot exist? Each of us must cast away the hatred in our hearts. This war is more than a battle between humans and half-elves, it is a battle that each of us must fight within ourselves. The battle on the outside cannot be won until each of us has won our own battle.

"That's all I'd like to share with. Except to say that I hope you will all be careful. My companions and I have reason to believe that a human camp may have been built nearby. So please guard yourselves." With a polite bow met by polite applause Martel took her leave of the podium. The half-elves were all in a quiet uproar over all that they had heard, and they spoke excitedly amongst themselves as they stood up. The four companions removed themselves from the church before nearly anyone else and stood alone outside on the road.

Despite the fact that all three men wanted to quit the town as soon as possible, Martel insisted they stay standing where they were a little longer in case anyone had questions. Kratos decided to use the time to ask Yuan the question that had been plagueing him.

"Oh, that one?" Yuan responded after Kratos had asked his question. "You've really never heard of origin?"

"No. I thought the spirits only represented eight aspects of nature. I haven't a clue what that ninth aspect could be."

"He's origin, the king of all the summon spirits. I don't know whether to tell you that he's all the aspects of nature, or none at all. Some people say there's even another summon spirit, but I'm not so su…"

"You're name's Kratos, right?" Yuan was interrupted by the stern woman with whom he'd had lunch the previous day. Kratos, however, had no idea who the woman was, and found himself only able to nod slightly.

"I think I know who you are," she said in an accusing tone, but none of the companions could quite figure out what she was accusing Kratos of.

"You're related to that horrible human commander. You're name is Kratos Aurion, right?" Shocked Kratos could barely manage to speak. He could imagine no way that this information would have gotten loose.

"How… how did you know?" he asked.

"I don't think Kratos is all to common a name. My stepmother has talked about you. She used to work for your father as one of his cooks. Anytime any of us get on complaining about human, she brings you up. I bet you don't even remember her. I bet she was just some slave you never noticed. Does the name Hestia even ring a bell?"

"Hestia!? You know her? Where is she? Is she all right? Did she get free? I'm so glad!" Kratos grabbed the woman by the shoulders excitedly. His half-elf companions, especially Mithos, looked on in surprise. It was always odd when Kratos lost his cool.

"She-she's in the next town over. F-follow the road; you can't miss it." The stern woman stuttered in surprise.

"Thank you! Thank you very much." Kratos gave the woman a hurried bow, before running off to the shack besides the inn to collect his dog and his things. When he returned he glowered a little at Yuan, Martel and Mithos.

"Why haven't you gone to get your things yet?" he demanded. The three half-elves each considered speaking, but none of them did. After all it was nice to see Kratos excited.

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I hope this chapter didn't bore anyone. It had a bit of an educational feel to it, and so close to the end of the school year too…


	10. Chapter 10

Here it is, the penultimate chapter of my redemption. (Although I really ought to write one for May, since that has passed now as well). Anyway, thank you to all of you who wished my grandfather well. We don't really he think that he'll last out the week, but it's nice to have people show their support. It makes things easier.

Anyway, here's the story:

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Chapter 10 March

"Kratos! We have got to rest!" Yuan shouted. Kratos stopped in his tracks and turned back to look at his companions. The three half-elves stood on the dirt road all in a line, looking completely exhausted. Yuan was glaring, Martel had a hand to her throat as she tried to catch her breath, and poor little Mithos was so exhausted that he was leaning, half asleep, on the leg of his arch rival, Yuan. With a forlorn look in the direction they had been traveling, Kratos gave a deep sigh and walked back towards his friends. Noishe followed happily by Kratos's side, the protozoan was the only one in the group that was still eager for travel.

"I suppose it would be best if we stopped to rest for the night…" Kratos agreed. And with a sarcastic 'thank you!' from Yuan they all began to set up camp. Mithos was asleep before they had even finished building the campfire, and so, while Kratos and Yuan made dinner, Martel tucked her little brother into bed without his supper.

"I'm sorry I exhausted you all," Kratos apologized as the three adults ate their dinner.

"It's fine, Kratos, really. I'm just glad to see you so happy," Martel said with a smile and Kratos returned the gesture.

"I thought I'd heard the name from somewhere… I'd totally forgot the story you'd told me," Yuan said, half to himself and half to Kratos.

"What, exactly is the story?" Martel asked.

"This Hestia woman pretty much raised him, till his mom got jealous and his father sold her off. But you were pretty little right, Kratos? I mean it was before we met."

"I believe I was about Mithos's age when it happened. I've always sort of blamed myself for what everything, so I'm very glad to hear that she's all right. I didn't get to say goodbye to her. It'll be good to have a chance to speak with her." Kratos leaned back and smiled to himself. Noishe came over and nudged Kratos's hand with his nose. "She left even before I got Noishe." Kratos chuckled slightly and began to scratch the protozoan under his chin.

"I wanna meet her too," Yuan said. "It'll be nice to see my predecessor in Kratos raising."

"What do you mean 'Kratos raising'? You didn't raise me!" the human smacked Yuan on the back of the head jokingly.

"Hey oww!" Yuan shouted before trying to get a hit in at Kratos. The two men fought like children, and Martel found herself unable to contain her laughter. It was nice to see them all so happy.

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"Are we there yet?" Mithos asked the next day, as the group made its way along the dirt road.

"Do you see a town?" Yuan responded in a strained voice.

"No…"

"Then shut up!" The companions had been traveling along together since they had awoken early that morning. Kratos was still in good spirits and Martel was in her general peaceful mood, Yuan and Mithos had been bickering for over an hour.

"Your acting like children," Kratos pointed out as Mithos ran to take a swing at Yuan, and found himself being picked up by the other half-elf.

"I _am_ a child," Mithos whined from his upside down position.

"And I'm a child at heart," Yuan added. "You wouldn't understand because you were born an old man."

"I was n…" Kratos froze in his tracks. He looked at the upward slanting road before them and sniffed. "It smells like smoke." Noishe whined in agreement. A look of concern crossed the faces of all members of the group, and suddenly Martel ran up the slope towards the smell.

"Oh holy spirits…"Martel gasped putting a hand to her breast. The men ran as fast as they could after her, only to freeze just where she was standing.

Before them were the smoldering remains of a village. Although no fires were left to lick what still stood, the smoke remained and the air was thick with it. Not a single building still stood, although there were some pieces of charred wood that hadn't quite crumbled.

"No…"Kratos said as he began to descend towards the desolate ruins. Frantically he began to run through what was left in search of any sign of life. Mithos, Martel, and Yuan joined him in his search, but it was to no avail, and at last all four of them were forced to retreat from the suffocating smoke with nothing to show for their efforts.

"The poor souls…"Martel whispered. "How could this have happened?

"It was humans," Mithos said angrily, "It had to have been!" Kratos sat quietly on the ground with his head in his hands. Any hope he had had earlier was completely gone. Yuan was the only member of the group that wasn't showing any sign of sadness. His eyes were wide and he was looking over the ground as if it were fascinating.

"What are you doing?!" Mithos asked angrily, directing his frustration towards Yuan. There was a long pause as Yuan bent down and ran his fingers over the dirt.

"I don't think they're dead," he answered slowly. His three companions looked up startled. He took their interest as a sign to continue. "Not all of them anyway. My town was destroyed like this, but unless you fought back you were only taken captive. My guess is that most of the townspeople have been taken as slaves. There are a whole bunch of foot prints around, but there was to much scuffling for me to figure out the direction."

Martel, Mithos, and Kratos all stared at Yuan with openmouthed amazement. Yuan had spoken his words as if they were a matter of very little importance and had immediately gone back to searching the ground for footprints. His air was one of mild curiosity and not one of dire need.

"The town couldn't have been destroyed to long ago, we might be able to catch them before they cross the border. Unless they get taken to that base we heard about…" Yuan was mumbling to himself now, his companions still stared. "Oh hey I've got it! Noishe come here!"

Noishe, who until now had been lying dejectedly on his stomach and snorting occasionally due to the smell of smoke, now stood up rather excitedly and ran over to Yuan.

"Is there a trail boy?" Yuan asked the protozoan. Noishe began to sniff the ground in an attempt to pick up the scent, but the smoke was causing him problems and eventually he gave up and whined.

"Can you clear the smoke, Kratos?" Yuan asked his friend. For a moment the human stared at him strangely, before remembering that he could use magic. With a quick 'wind blade!' the area around the city's exit was completely cleared of smoke and in a matter of moments Noishe had picked up a scent.

Slowly Martel, Mithos, and Kratos began to follow. The three of them were still shocked and shaken, at the scene of destruction they had witnessed. Yuan turned to them in exasperation and frowned.

"Come on guys! None of this will matter if we hurry up and rescue them. Now come on, we're got to save Kratos's friend!"

"Yes," Martel said looking at Yuan, "We can't let this stop us from saving those poor people." Breaking away from her brother and Kratos she ran towards Yuan's outstretched hand and took it. She nodded at him and he smiled in return and together they turned to look at their remaining companions.

"Come on Kratos. Let's go be heroes!" Mithos took one of Kratos's hands in his little ones and looked up at him imploringly. The human stared back into the eyes of the child before his expression softened and life returned to his eyes.

" Let's hurry," he said quietly, and the four companions hurried off after Noishe.

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A few hours later they came in sight of the human base. It was a large stone construction with hardly any detail at all on its immense walls. The walls were almost smooth with the exception of the small dent between stones where the mortar connected them. It was hard and cold and impossible to scale. The entire thing was impressive, although far from beautiful. The whole thing seemed like a huge cube with no natural lines to be shown. It was a naturally human affront to nature.

The base borrowed only one thing from the earth, and that was cover. The entire colossus was hidden amongst trees. The friends hadn't seen it until they were right up close; it was no wonder it hadn't been discovered. On top of the large square walls human soldiers could be seen keeping watch, although they weren't doing a very good job. They all looked rather bored and most of them were chatting with each other. Nonetheless it would be difficult to sneak in. The entire base had only one door, and it was near impossible to get close to it without being seen. Peering around one corner the four companions tried to figure a way out of their situation.

"There's nothing to it but to attack," Yuan said shaking his head. "We've just got to go for it."

"That's absurd. We'll be killed immediately and then we'll be no use to anyone."

"Well what do you suggest Mr. I've-actually-studied-military-strategy."

"I had less then a year of that, and they never told us how to take down their own forts with a rag tag group of travelers mainly comprised of half-elves!"

"The hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means: shut up!"

Martel and Mithos stared at the two old friends curiously. Their bickering and strained whispers would have been funny in another situation, but now it was just useless.

"Martel want to try climbing that tree and jumping over?" Mithos asked his sister.

"I don't see why not." And together the siblings began to make their way up along the wall leaving the men to bicker. It wasn't until they reached a limb that was on level with the wall that they tried to get the attention of Yuan and Kratos. Mithos dropped nuts on their heads.

"Ow, what the…?" Yuan put a hand on his head and looked up. "Martel?!" After glancing at each other briefly and feeling rather foolish Yuan and Kratos followed the other to members of their group.

"How did you guys do that so fast?" Yuan panted when at last he and Kratos reached the same tree limb as the siblings.

"I used to live in the elven city. It's just something you pick up when you live in the forest. I taught Mithos," Martel responded matter of factly. "Now we have to hurry, there are people to be saved."

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One more chapter to go before I actually have to start writing again. My guess is my production will slow down to an average of about one chapter a month, which I think is what I was doing before my hiatus. I'll try to be more frequent, but I've proven untrustworthy when it comes to such promises. See you in April!


	11. Chapter 11

I'm sorry that I didn't get this up sooner, but it's been the most hectic week that I can remember. Everything seems to be happening at once and I haven't had a chance to just sit down. So here's the final make-up chapter. We're on real time now (not that that seems to make a difference).

I don't own Tales of Symphonia

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Chapter 11 April

Slowly, slowly, slowly Yuan inched his way out on the limb of a tree that hung into the human base. He gave a forlorn look over his shoulder, but his companions stared back blankly. He wasn't entirely sure whether it would be better to look down at his hands where they gripped the rough bark of the tree, or to make sure he didn't look down, ever. He settled for looking back again and pouting. Martel, Mithos, and Kratos were unmoved.

"Why do I have to do it?" He whined.

"We'll all have to do it eventually," Kratos responded rationally.

"Yeah, but I have to make sure there's no one guarding this side. Not only could I fall, but I could get attacked!"

"Well, I offered, but you wouldn't let me go," Martel said kindly.

"You said you'd go in her stead," Kratos added.

"Besides if we lose someone, it ought to be you," Mithos mumbled.

"You guys suck, I hope you know that," Yuan told them before inching forward along the branch. When he at last reached the top of the wall he stepped down on to it and glanced to either side. The only soldiers were leaning on the front part of the wall staring out over the gate. He waved his companions towards him and then got down on his knees so that if any of the soldiers turned around they wouldn't see him.

In a moment Martel landed neatly besides him.

"You did it," she whispered and squeezed his hand. Yuan blushed at the contact. In a moment Mithos landed between them and glared at the other male half-elf.

"Kratos will be coming in a second. Noishe started whining at the base of the tree and he had to calm him down, which is hard to do from so many feet up," Mithos told Martel, although Yuan had the feeling the message was actually for him. Mithos's words proved true and soon enough all four companions were together on the wall of the enemy base.

"What now?" asked Yuan in a whisper. The pause that ensued seemed to last forever, and the four friends slowly realized that they hadn't a clue what they were doing.

"Are we gonna die?" Mithos asked with all the innocent bluntness of childhood.

"No of-of course not!" Yuan stammered. "Right Kratos?"

"There's no reason to assume that we'll fail. We've gotten this far, so it's obvious that this base isn't very well run. It's just been recently built, I wouldn't be surprised if the person in charge was more used to building and expansion than the more violent aspects of war. If we're sneaky we should be all right. I suggest stay low and go along to the front of the wall. We can take the guards down quietly."

"Do we have to?" Martel asked quietly.

"It's a couple of guards or a townfull of civilians," Yuan told her.

"I know…"Martel sighed.

Carefully the four companions began to travel along the wall, keeping as low as possible. When at last they drew close to the corner near the soldiers, Yuan told the siblings to hang back.

"Watch this, THUNDER BLADE," Yuan shouted, and the guards fell stunned.

"YUAN!" Kratos whispered frantically.

"What? I didn't kill them for Martel. But don't worry, they'll be out for awhile; trust me." Yuan responded.

"It's not that! You just gave away our position!"

"Then I suggest we change our position," Yuan told him. With a quick glance over the wall, Yuan grabbed Martel around the waist and jumped down. About half way down the wall there was a stack of boxed building material, and with another leap off of that, Yuan landed safely.

"Please let us live," Kratos said aloud to no one in particular and, grabbing Mithos, he followed Yuan down.

Quickly the four companions hid behind the boxes. In a short while a few soldiers wandered out.

"Why did the general send us out? It was just lightening. We can't investigate every freak act of nature…" a young soldier complained.

"If we do it quickly we can get it over with, and then you won't have to worry, alright?" an older soldier said. Together the two humans opened the gate and stepped outside to look around, leaving the path open for the intruders to make their way into the interior part of the base.

The inside had a cave like feel to it. New as it was, there had been no time in which to furnish it. Not that any of the four of them had expected the base to have a homey feel to it, but they had expected some paintings or tapestries or perhaps a chair. There were very few soldiers about as the companions made their way through the big empty stone halls. It was, however, extremely difficult to hide with nothing around, and so Yuan had stunned a few more soldiers.

A while before they actually came across the dungeon, the four could actually hear it. The halls were so silent and echoey that the shouts and cries of children carried a great distance. At the first wail Martel took the lead and began to run as fast as she could in the direction of the sound.

"It's in here," Martel said, calling the boys over. She had opened a large wooden door with a barred window in it that led to a winding staircase.

"Be careful. There are almost definitely more soldiers down there," Yuan warned her.

"I'm sure we'll be alright," Martel assured him, and she began to ascend. Almost immediately the four intruders heard running and voices.

"Some one's coming!"

"Call for back up!"

"None of the magitechnology communication is set up yet, you know that!"

"Brace yourselves!" Kratos ordered just as a man came running towards them, sword drawn. Before either man could do anything, Martel acted.

"PHOTON!" she shouted, and the man fell before her. Yuan and Kratos stared at her in amazement.

"Way to go!" Mithos told her, and Martel smiled back at him.

"Wow... I didn't know you could do that," Yuan said in shock.\

"How do you think I survived traveling with just myself and baby Mithos. It's not too strong a spell, but it gets the job done. I just hope he's alright…"

"Another one's coming!" Kratos shouted, and Martel felled him as well.

"Let's continue, shall we?" the woman said, and daintily she stepped over the fallen soldiers.

"She's amazing!" Yuan shouted turning to grin at Kratos.

"Quiet," Kratos told him. Together the two siblings and the two old friends made their way down to the base of the steps, where they were met with a shocking sight. Rows of barred prison cells stretched out before them, and all of them contained half-elves. There were more prisoners than could have possibly been from a single town, and the companions were horrified when they realized more villages must have been sacked. Nearly all of the captives were children, women, and the elderly. The towns had been emptied of their able bodied men, and judging by the relatively small number of women, the women who had been strong enough to attack had been killed.

Slowly all the captives began to notice their visitors, and soon all eyes were on the young rescuers who stood awkwardly in the doorway. Silence settled over everything as the prisoners stared at their heroes and their heroes stared back.

"Are we gonna be saved?" One child asked, and suddenly the whole group was talking. Unsure of how deal with the people in front of them the companions looked around at one another. Yuan glanced at Kratos who, for all the leadership he showed in small groups, looked somewhat cowed by the number of people in front of him. Shrugging, Yuan opened his mouth to speak but Mithos beat him to it.

"We've come to save all of you, but you have got to be quiet. We'll get all of you out of here we promise." Mithos held up a set of keys he had apparently pilfered from the body of an incapacitated guard and began to open the first cage. Martel hurried to help the people inside.

"We can't leave this base at all functional," Kratos suddenly said to Yuan. "They'll just go after more people."

"Mithos, Martel. Keep doing what you're doing. Kratos and I are going to find the leader of this infernal place and take him down!" There was a cheer from the captives.

"But wait! I want to help," Mithos begged stopping in the middle of his rescue.

"We need you here Mithos. You have to open the cages while Martel heals anybody who's injured," Kratos explained.

"Let's go buddy," Yuan said and he pulled his human friend up the stairs, leaving Mithos pouting with the keys in his hands.

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There weren't many hallways left to explore, and soon enough Kratos and Yuan found themselves in front of the general's quarters. They had passed the soldier's quarters earlier, and at last found out why they hadn't seen anyone. There seemed to be some sort of excited drinking going on to celebrate the successful captures. Yuan had expressed a desire to destroy them, but Kratos said that they would be useless without the head anyway.

"Here goes nothing." Yuan swallowed heavily and swung the door open wide,

"Who the hell?!" the general shouted in surprise. Kratos looked at him with empty eyes and pulled out his sword.

"We're here to destroy you."

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Aww, it's like the game! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I probably won't post anymore until after finals, although the next chapter is already half finished anyway. I'm going to try and get at least to chapters out before the end of the month, so see you then!


	12. Chapter 12

It's been a long time since I last wrote, although not as long as it feels. My last chapter went up in the beginning of May if I remember correctly. Although I didn't write it then, my grandfather had died right before I posted. It's been over three months now, and it seems like forever ago. School ended and is once again approaching. There have been finals and funerals and college visits. I've reached the point of worry over the amount of time left to finish my summer reading. I've been busy this summer, and I apologize for my ever slow posting. Had I not suddenly remembered that the OVA's had come out perhaps I would have waited longer before picking this up again.

I apologize if this chapter seems choppy, I wrote bits and pieces of it at odd times, and the end is a bit overly pensive due to my summer reading of Jane Eyre. Anyway, I don't own Tales of Symphonia.

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"Who the hell are you people?" the general shouted pulling his sword out of his sheath. Kratos and Yuan stood in the doorway with their weapons pulled as well. Yuan smirked and advanced on the man in front of him.

"Why does it matter who we are. You'll be dead soon enough and then that little piece of information won't matter. All you need to know is that we're here to make sure that you and your men never destroy another village."

" Hah. You think that killing me will end the destruction?" the general's tone was cocky, but he was obviously nervous and he was backing away as he spoke. "There are more bases being built as we speak. The human's have been winning this war from the beginning, there's nothing you can do to turn it around!"

"If those bases are as easy to take down as this one I don't think we'll have a problem," Yuan responded.

"It won't be as easy. Tr-trust me, I'm the worst officer in the army," The man laughed nervously and his eyes darted to where Kratos stood in the doorway.

Suddenly Yuan shouted and ran at the man who jumped out of the way and raised his sword. Yuan spun his double-edged blade and moved again in the man's direction. He was blocked, however, by the man's sword and he jumped back.

"Kratos, are you gonna help or not?" Yuan shouted, turning for a moment to look at his friend. Kratos, however, was staring at the general with fascination.

"Wait his name is Kratos? Than you're… you're that kid, you're Commander Aurion's son," the man stopped where he was. "And you… I've seen you too!"

"What…really?" Yuan stared in surprise, before shaking his head, "What am I doing? It doesn't matter who you know, I am going to kill you. Now Kratos, HELP ME!"

Yuan leapt at the General and swung down. The man jumped back and slashed at the half-elf. Yuan grunted as his enemy's sword cut a small slash into his shoulder.

"Yuan!!" Kratos shouted.

"I'm fine; it's just a scratch. But Kratos, help me!" The young human hesitated slightly, and stayed where he was. "Kratos!"

"Do we have to kill him? Aren't you at all worried about how Martel will feel?"

"This has nothing to do with Martel, and you know it!" Yuan swung his blade, this time nicking the general. "You're just too scared! You're being a coward!"

"I…I…" Kratos began, but he stopped suddenly as Yuan landed a mortal blow. The blade of his weapon sliced through the man's stomach and he fell to the ground. A gasping gurgling noise escaped from his mouth and soon he was spitting up blood as well. Then he abruptly stopped, and he lay still with a trail of blood coming from his mouth.

Yuan stepped back, breathing heavily and dropping his weapon. He gulped and shook a little as he stared down at the body in front of him.

"I did it," he said shakily. Then suddenly a smile spread across his face. "We saved them, Kratos. We saved those half-elves and they'll never have to worry about this bastard again."

"Zlatan…" Kratos mumbled quietly as he stared at the dead body.

"What…?"

"This man, his name is…was General Zlatan. He used to attend the Celcius day parties that my parents had. He was a very laid-back man; it's really no surprise that he ran such a relaxed base. He probably remembered seeing you with me. He never seemed as intent on ignoring slaves as everyone else," Kratos spoke in a dead sort of voice and showed no emotion.

"Is that why you wouldn't help. Kratos, you're going to recognize a lot of the people we'll fight, you're going to have to help eventually…"

"Who said that we'll be fighting more people?" Kratos asked quietly.

"We can't just let those other bases stand, can we?" Yuan answered. He grinned at Kratos, but found his friend still staring at the body. "Come on," he said quietly. He put a hand on the human's shoulder and steered him out of the room.

Yuan glanced down at one of his hands and clenched it into a fist. He supposed he should've felt somewhat guilty, but he couldn't. This was war, that man had attacked innocent villagers, Zlatan should have expected something like this. He chanced another glance at Kratos, and decided that he looked guiltier than Yuan felt. It made sense though, Yuan had to admit, Kratos was human after all, and he must have felt somewhat treacherous.

" You know Kratos, I bet you're nanny will be glad to see how you've grown up. She'll be proud," Yuan said in one last attempt to cheer his friend up.

"She wasn't really my nanny…" Kratos mumbled, but he smiled too and the Half-elf knew that he'd succeeded. As they navigated their way back through the halls, they suddenly heard a strange noise from one room. Yuan glanced up at his tall friend and then went and opened the door.

He had never before seen anything the like of what he found in that room. It was full of machines. They were all shapes and sizes and many of them blinked or whired, but try as he might Yuan couldn't figure out what they were. He picked up one smaller piece of technology that was shaped a bit like an L. Yuan looked the invention over; he ran his fingers over it and tried to figure out exactly what it was meant for. He discovered a small hole at one end and pointed it away from him. He held the machine in his hand and pulled on a small moveable piece. Suddenly a blast of mana burst from the invention and blew a hole in the wall.

"Holy…spirits," Yuan gasped. "What the hell have the humans made." He stared briefly at the weapon in his hand before throwing it on the ground before him.

"Are the bigger one's weapons as well?" Kratos said softly as he entered the room. Recovering from his shock, Yuan walked over to the largest machine in the room.

"There's a screen,"the half-elf said vaguely. "Could it be a game like the ones you used to have?"

"I doubt that," said Kratos joining him.

"Should I press the button?" Yuan asked. Kratos began to shake his head, but Yuan hit the button anyway. The machine began to beep and numbers appeared on the screen. It said 2:00 and it began to count down.

"This can't be good…" Kratos said with his breath catching in his throat. "I suggest we run." Yuan gulped and nodded at his friend, and suddenly the two friends turned and pounded out of the room.

"I don't know what that thing will do, but we should probably get the refugees as far from the vicinity as possible," Kratos shouted as they ran.

"Right, then we need to go faster," Yuan agreed, and the two friends picked up their speed.

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Outside the base, Martel and Mithos stood waiting with the group of rescued half elves. Mithos had a hand on Noishe's neck and he looked anxiously at the gate for a sign of Kratos or Yuan. Suddenly he saw them; they came barreling out of the base.

"Run!" Yuan yelled gesturing towards them. There was sudden chaos among the refugees, but none of it in the right direction. Thinking quickly Mithos gestured for Kratos to pick him up and then practically scrambled up the arm of the human.

"Everybody! We need to get as far from the base as possible. Don't panic. Just get away from the base." There was a second of calm as everyone turned and looked up at Mithos. He smiled reassuringly but waved his hands in the direction he wanted them to go. He hadn't succeeded in ending the chaos, but he had managed to redirect it. The mob of half-elves turned and hurried in the other direction. Their running was interrupted, however, by a resounding boom and sudden blast of energy that knocked Mithos from Kratos's shoulders.

As he fell Mithos saw the human base explode in a blast of Mana. For a moment the air was rich with it, but as soon as the blast disappeared Mithos felt the Mana in the air grow thin. There was utter silence as everyone stared in open mouthed horror at the space where there had once stood a seemingly impenetrable base.

"Oh my…" Martel whispered, "I never imagined… such power. The Mana… it's all gone…"

"We should get out of here," Kratos said quietly, more to Mithos than anyone else. The boy staggered to his feet nodding shakily. Kratos scooped him up again and Mithos addressed the horrified half-elves surrounding him.

"We need to get out of here," he said, echoing the human's words. "If someone could direct us to the nearest town, we should be able to scrounge some supplies up and maybe create some sort of refugee camp until you can all start building again."

"They didn't do much of a job on our town." One young woman piped up. "Some of us who helped build the town had experienced attacks before, and we kept our supplies hidden under ground. I think we have enough to feed people for a little while."

"That's great," Yuan said. He was standing with an arm around the sorely shaken Martel. "Please, lead the way."

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It was truly amazing what people could do with a single goal in mind. It was only a few hours since the total destruction of the base, but already the refugees had erected a makeshift camp. The town's underground stores had been nothing short of life saving. Water, tents, and blankets had been rationed and handed out. Warm food was currently being prepared under a large tarp in the middle of the camp. Kratos was sitting alone in the shadow of a half-destroyed wall, which, by some miracal, had managed to keep from tumbling entirely.

Kratos's companions had all had a hand in the camps erection, and were currently mingling with the refugees. Martel, with Mithos ever present at her side, had gone off to help anybody with young children who might be having trouble caring for them in such a new and frightening place. Yuan had left, rather unwillingly, with a group of old men. He had helped them to put up many of the tents, and they had decided that Yuan ought to come with them to find something to drink. Kratos had watched people go about their business from his little hideout, but he hadn't lifted a hand to help, he'd simply tried to remain unseen. These people had suffered terrible abuse at the hands of humans, and Kratos could not imagine that they would simply let him walk among them unharrased. Everyone in the camp seemed to be calming down at last, and he didn't want to go out amongst them and spoil their paradise.

He sighed heavily, and patted Noishe who now lay at his feet. The protozoan had gone out into the camp as well, but unlike the rest of his companions, Noishe kept coming back to check on his master. The animal perked up suddenly, as voices approached, but Kratos only backed away, determined on his invisibility.

"Come now girl, don't be silly. That water is needed for rations not for cooking. We'll have to get our water from a natural source; if there any disease in it the heat should get it out."

"But ma'am, I don't want to go into the woods alone. It's much too frightening."

Kratos peered out from his shadowy hiding place and saw a girl and an older woman. The girl was in the awkward stage between child and adult, still small but with something of a woman's shape. The woman, when Kratos, at last, set eyes on her, stood with her back to him. Yet he knew from the deep but gentle voice and proud way in which she stood that this was Hestia. He shrunk back a little farther, and cursed himself mentally, as he was forced to admit that the main reason he had hidden away all day was that he was unsure how to face her.

"Come now, a great girl like yourself? You've survived an escape from the humans. That seems pretty brave if you ask me."

"Please ma'am, don't make me go!"

"Fine then. If you won't go I'll do it myself. You go on and get back to the kitchen; tell them I'll be a little late."

"Thank you. Oh, thank you ma'am. I'll make sure the kitchen runs smooth till you come back. I promise. Thank you!"

"Get along then you silly thing." Hestia smiled and shook her head as she watched the girl hurry off back into the depths of the camp. She bent down and picked up two buckets that the girl had left on the ground before turning and walking toward the woods.

Kratos hesitated for a moment, stuck in indecision. The girl was right. It wasn't safe to go wandering off into the woods like that so soon after an attack. There was no telling whether news of the attack and escape had spread, or even if it hadn't there was always the possibility of monsters. Hestia, as Kratos remembered her, had often been a bit head strong in the face of things that she felt needed to be done. So long as the water was needed there was nothing anyone could do to stop her from getting it. Besides how cowardly would he have to be to spend the night hidden in the shadows, particularly when the person he was looking for had come out from the dangerous throng of the camp.

She was nearly gone into the forest edge when Kratos at last emerged into the light. She was almost lost to him again, and Kratos was forced to speak quickly.

"Wait. It's not safe," he called after her. The words sounded lame and odd to Kratos. Surely he could have thought of some better way to greet her after all this time? But these thoughts erased from his mind the moment she turned to look at him.

She looked exactly the same as he remembered. Plump and slightly wrinkled with a kind and clever face. Hestia wore her hair the same way she always had, pulled up into a loose bun. She looked as though she hadn't aged a day, a thing that surprised Kratos only briefly. After all, she was a half-elf.

Hestia stared at Kratos for a long time, her brow furrowed and her mouth slightly open. Whether she was simply shocked or whether she honestly couldn't tell who he was, Kratos couldn't tell.

"Hestia, it's me. I'm…" but he didn't get a chance to finish. All of the sudden she dropped the buckets she was holding and raised her hands to her mouth.

"Kratos…" she said softly. And then she ran for him and hugged him warmly. "Oh Kratos, I'm so happy."

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The most recent bit of news is that this morning I had an operation. It was the simple removal of a small benign tumor and nothing to worry about. I simply wanted to share with the world that I played some ToS today while totally out of it from medication. I did the block puzzle in Mithos's castle and feels as though I dreamt it. But I went back to make sure and I have the past, future, and sacred stones. But it's weird, I don't remember any of it clearly.


	13. Chapter 13

Back by popular demand! I've always wanted to say that.

I hope you all enjoy this much belated chapter. The truth is, I actually had about half of it written about a year ago. I was pretty convinced that this chapter, up until the part where Yuan appears, was online. I'm sorry, I left you with a big cliff hanger and didn't even know it.

Anyway, for the first time in a long time, I don't own Tales of Symphonia.

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"Destroyed? You expect me to believe one of our bases is completely gone?"

"General, I swear. There's no other reason I'd be here. I was sent out to scout and when I was headin' back I saw the whole thing explode. For a moment I felt like all the life was sucked right out of me. An' then I saw all the prisoners go pass me righ' back to their town. I'm the only one who lived an' I came back across the border to tell ya." The soldier looked up earnestly from the general to the commander, desperate to be believed. The commander turned a cold eye to the man at his feet.

"Did you see who did it? You say you saw the prisoners leave; was anyone leading them?"

"At the very front was four people who looked a little better off than the others. Two of them were armed, so they musta helped with the escape. None of the prisoners were allowed weapons."

"Obviously," the commander replied in a bored tone, "But what did they look like?"

"Look Like? Well one was a woman."

"A woman?" the commander said in shock.

"Yeah. An' another was just a little boy. Both the woman an' the kid were blondish. I think they musta been half-elves, cause their ears were kinda pointy. Neither of 'em were armed though."

"Get on with it then, and tell us who was armed!" the commander snapped as his patience wore thin.

"Sorry sir. Well the woman was walkin' right along side a man with long blue hair. He had a big old fancy sword on his back. It had two sides to it. An' the boy was riding on the shoulders of another man, a man with spiky reddish hair. He had a sword an' shield. Both men had round ears, bu' not all half-elves got pointy ears do they?"

"No…" The general said vaguely, "You are dismissed. Go rest yourself."

"Thank ya, sir," the soldier responded and then he bowed himself out. When he at last left the room General Everard turned to his commander.

"It's just as I told you, Commander Aurion. Your son was spotted nearby with a woman, a child, and a man, all half-elves. It sounds to me as though they might be a serious problem."

"This is certainly troubling. I haven't seen or heard anything about the boy in six years, and now he shows up on the other side. Sounds as though he's still with that damn slave too," Commander Aurion grew silent for a moment as though lost in thought. " I wouldn't worry to much, Zlatan was always incompetent. I'll handle this myself. I'll make sure to be at the next base they attack. I'll put dissension in their group and let things rot from the inside out. I know how the boy thinks; leave it to me."

00000

Kratos stood embracing the woman who had raised him. It was strange being with her after all this time, it all seemed the same, and yet so much different. When he was young, her warmth had meant love and protection. The feeling of her large arms around him had seemed to block out all the evil in the world. Now she didn't seem nearly so large. Although plump, she barely came up to his chin and he felt as though, here at the forest's edge, it was he who must do the protecting. And yet the love was still there, after all those years, she still held him as though no time had passed.

"Oh my sweet little boy," Hestia murmured, but she stopped suddenly and pulled back. She kept Kratos at arms length and looked him over, before giving a bittersweet smile. "You're not very little anymore, though, are you? I can't believe how tall you are. You used to be such a tiny little thing, even compared to other boys your age. Look at you now though, so tall and handsome. You've changed so much. Ah, but look, you're hair is as wild as ever."

She reached up to fix his hair, despite the fact that she was really too short to do it. Kratos found himself at a loss for words. It was an odd feeling having his past and his future clash together in this manner. For all that Hestia kept mentioning how much he'd grown, she kept talking to him as if he were a child and she didn't expect him to respond. He remained silent even after she had given up on his hair. She seemed undaunted by the quiet, however, and she began to talk again.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you over here, Kratos. I have to admit, I was a little frightened that you might become a soldier on the human side." Her voice was tinged with sadness now, but she smiled at Kratos again when he opened his mouth to deny her accusations. "Don't worry. It's not that I ever thought you'd end up like your father. It's just that, you looked up to him so when you were little; I was worried that you'd do it to please him. I was worried that you'd get yourself killed."

A tear appeared in the corner of Hestia's eye and her breathing became ragged. Kratos lifted a hand and wiped away the tear.

"There was never any need to worry about that. You taught me well enough that I could never raise arms to slaughter people whose only crime was being of your race," Kratos said gently. She looked up at him in silent wonder, as though she was truly beginning to realize that she was faced with an adult, not simply a child in the wrong form. "I must admit, I was concerned for you as well. I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

It was Hestia who was at a loss for words now, she mouthed silently as she searched for something to say.

"My companions and I met your step daughter in a nearby village. She told us where to find you. I've heard what happened to you, but I'd much rather hear it directly from you," Kratos told her to fill in the silence.

"Of course, of course." She said absentmindedly as she got her thoughts in order. Suddenly she spoke again with more vigor, "But you must tell me what happened to you, as well! Tell me who these companions are, how you got over here, how that cowardly little general's son ended up as a hero to the captives of his father's army."

"They're calling us heroes?" Kratos began, but she interrupted.

"The word has spread all over camp already; we were saved by four heroes. There was even a rumor that one of them was human. When I saw you outside the camp what else was I to think?" she said. Hestia took his arm to lead him back towards camp before she kicked one of the buckets and remembered the water. "You can tell me as we walk then."

Kratos bent down and picked up the buckets for her, before the two of them headed off into the woods.

"I'm not sure where I should start the story. I suppose it would start all the way back with Yuan…"

00000

"She's a brave ol' broad, you better believe me, son."

"That's great, but I really ought to go looking for my friends…" Yuan tried to remove the old man's arm from around his shoulder, but found that it was near impossible. He had been trying to escape from the group of old men for hours now. The lack of young men had denied them of an outlet for boring old stories, and Yuan had had to face every single one they had to throw at him. It hadn't bothered him all that much when they had been working, but now he had better things to do. He had hoped that after a few drinks, the old men would stagger home and fall asleep, but he hadn't been so lucky. One man had decided, under the influence of ale, that Yuan ought to meet his wife, and now Yuan found himself being dragged off.

"It won't take long. I jus' need to find…" the old man's voice trailed off.

"You have no idea what tent she's in, do you?"

"Oh, I'm sure she's around here somewhere…" the old man said and then he hiccupped. Sighing, Yuan lead him to the camp's makeshift kitchen. He figured that with all the people going through there one of them was bound to have seen her.

"Has anyone seen this man's wife?" Yuan asked, but the half elves who were lined up to receive their food all shook their heads; they had been busy working all day, and hadn't had time for much socializing. The woman who was serving, however, spoke up.

"I saw 'er just a little bit ago. She made this batch of stew here. She took that young human with her and went to find a spare tent."

"Human?" Yuan repeated in surprise. Running outside with the old man in tow, Yuan whistled loudly. Noishe came bounding out of nowhere, and stood in front of Yuan panting. "Where's Kratos, boy?"

Noishe wagged and turned and ran. Behind him, Yuan went as quickly as he could, dragging the man all the while. They must have looked quite ridiculous, but Yuan was unconcerned. The protozoan stopped, at last, in front of a small tent, made sure he was being followed and then entered through the open flap.

Yuan pushed the old man in before him and so heard some conversation before he actually entered.

"Eld! I was wondering where you'd gotten to. I brought you some stew from the kitchen, but I want to introduce you to someone first." There was a loud crash followed by, "You're drunk; aren't you?"

"Yep!"

"I'm sorry about this, Kratos. He's usually a very dependable man. I'm not even sure where they got alcohol from."

"Some was hidden with the town's supplies, but that's not really important," Yuan said entering. He turned and went to Kratos, grinning all the while, "Introduce me, man!"

Kratos seemed somewhat shocked at Yuan's sudden appearance, so the half elf waved his hand vigourously in front of his friend's face. Looking severly annoyed, the human grabbed Yuan's hand rather tightly and put it back at his side.

" Hestia, this is Yuan, the friend I that I spoke of, and the animal is Noishe, my protozoan."

"I don't even get introduced in my own sentence?" Yuan whined, but he stopped when he found the old woman watching him intently. He had never really gotten to know any women who were older than him self; he had, after all, been raised by his brother. He squirmed under her stare, feeling like a naughty child for pestering Kratos.

She smiled suddenly and pulled him into a tight hug. Yuan was dumbfounded and gaped at Kratos. Kratos simply sipped his coffee.

"Thank you," Hestia said, "Thank you for taking such good care of him. He would have been so lonely without you. You are a marvelous courageous boy and undoubtedly an excellent friend."

Yuan blushed and mumbled his thank you. He had never been complimented so earnestly before, and it made him feel mildly uncomfortable. He found himself staring at the floor, until Kratos stood up and joined him.

"We should probably go find Martel and Mithos, before it gets to late. Hestia, I'll come find you in the morning; I'd like to speak to you again," He said, putting his hands on Yuan's shoulders.

"Alright then. Take care you two. I want to have a longer conversation with you next time, Yuan. I want to get to know you. Don't you all take off too soon, do you hear?" She hugged Kratos again before she let him lead his friend outside.

"She sure does seem like a nice lady. Did the two of you catch up?" Yuan said when at last they had stepped carefully over the sleeping body of Hestia's husband and were outside. Kratos smiled slightly and nodded. They walked along in silence for a while, before something occurred to Yuan, "You know? This finally explains why you used to hug me all the time."

Kratos hit him.

00000

It had been nearly a week when the four comrades at last decided to leave the refugee camp. It was beginning to run quite smoothly. Hunting parties were keeping the group well provided for now, and fields were beginning to be planted for later. Apparently, most of the half elves had decided it would be best for all of them to stick together for the long run, and houses were already being built. It was hard not to feel a swell of pride as they stood before the infant village.

Kratos had spent most of his week with Hestia, avoiding the other half elves, but even now she didn't seem quite ready to let him go. She had sewed warm cloaks for all four travelers, and was currently handing over a basket of various baked goods to keep up their strength.

"Now I want a promise that you'll all come back and visit me. Particularly if you ever need any new clothes or anything fixed up," she said handing Mithos a cookie.

"I'll come back; I promise," Kratos told her, and she wrapped her arms around him.

"You be careful, all of you. This idea of looking for more human bases sounds very dangerous to me." She fixed Yuan with a stare, "If anything happens to him, I'm holding you accountable.

Yuan blanched, causing Martel to laugh. They waved goodbye to her, and began to walk away.

"Are you really gonna come back?" Mithos asked, nibbling on his cookie.

"Of course I am," Kratos said sternly. He was quiet for a moment before adding, "We have to come back to see if they're still there. I'm not sure how long that little town can last."

00000

So there is your chapter. The best thing about it is its open ended ending staves off writers block! I hope you enjoy it!


	14. Chapter 14

Here's the next chapter. Considerably faster than the previous gap, eh? This is the fourteenth chapter, for the record the thirteenth chapter is no longer a letter. I repeat the THIRTEENTH CHAPTER IS NO LONGER A LETTER. Just in case some people didn't notice.

Anyways I don't own TOS.

00000

"Finally," Yuan said "A town that's not been completely destroyed!" Ever since the group had left the refugee camp, the only villages they'd come across were charred. It was no great concern; they had already rescued the people from these places. Still, they were tired, dirty, and desperate to sleep under a roof.

"I don't suppose it would be any use to ask around about any other bases. The first one was surprisingly well hidden," Kratos said.

"You shouldn't be asking about anything. You should try to be as inconspicuous as possible, human-boy," Yuan teased.

"Does it matter what I do? You people can sense these things can't you?" Kratos asked.

"You can't?" Mithos turned to Kratos in shock.

"No. The ability to sense mana comes from elven blood. In fact, if I were to be completely honest I would have to admit that I haven't a clue how it's even done."

"It feels kind of like using magic in reverse. You must have some sense of it, Kratos. When you use magic you're expelling mana," Martel chimed in.

"We can have this conversation later," Yuan said, "Right now, lets find somewhere to sleep."

00000

Kratos had spent the entire day inside the room at the inn. Martel had taken Yuan and Mithos and gone out on the town. He hadn't just sat around like this in the longest time, and he found himself wishing he had a book. He couldn't honestly remember the last time he'd actually read something. At the moment, he was simply lounging on the bed he shared with Yuan with Noishe across his legs.

"Kratos!" Yuan burst through the door suddenly causing Kratos to sit up suddenly and Noishe to fall off the bed. The blue-haired half-elf seemed only mildly bothered by the chaos he had caused and continued talking, "I need you to do me a tremendous favor."

"What is it?" Kratos asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's Mithos. When he's around I can't get anywhere near Martel. I mean, I was trying to hold her hand and he wedges himself between us. I left them to be together, because I'm just a swell guy like that."

"So what's the favor?" Kratos pressed him further.

"Tonight I want to take her out of town and talk; just the two of us." Kratos smirked, but Yuan ignored him, "Could you please distract Mithos while I'm out with her. I don't want him bothering us."

"That's fine with me. It's about time I deliver on my promise to teach him some magic anyway."

"You're the greatest, Kratos! The absolute best! I owe you one, man. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

00000

"Magic? Really?" Mithos repeated in excitement. "What are we waiting for then? We've got work to do!"

Yuan smirked, as Kratos was lead out of the inn by the small child. Martel stared after them as well, but her look was one of mild confusion instead of triumph; this was the first time that Mithos had parted with her so easily. He gave her a wave without turning around, and was gone.

"Looks like it's just the two of us than," Yuan stated, looking down at Martel.

"They didn't even get dinner," she murmured, dumbfounded.

"Don't worry about it. Kratos has his bag; there's bound to be something to snack on in that thing. As for us, I think it would be nice to take some of our food out of town and have a picnic. How does that sound?"

"You planned this didn't you?" Martel asked with a little smile.

"What!? Of course not! I mean, yes. I mean-"Yuan stumbled over his words as he tried to defend himself. Martel put a finger to his lips.

"My answer to the questions is yes. I would like to go on a picnic with you." Martel turned around and walked out of the inn very gracefully. Yuan stared after her in awe, until it occurred to him that he should really be following her. Together they walked down the street, stopping only to purchase a bit of food from a tiny produce stand. Briefly, Yuan wondered how long their money would last, but the sight of Martel put the thought out of his mind.

She was just too beautiful. To him, it seemed as though she glowed unfettered by her surroundings. Dressed as she was in plain and simple earth tones and walking as she was through dingy little streets, it did not put any damper on her magnificent beauty. She carried her simplicity like a queen.

When he caught up to her, Yuan took her hand in his. It was his little way of gauging whether or not he should make any sort of move that evening; if she pulled away he'd know it was a lost cause here and now. She didn't pull away, however, and instead leaned against him as they walked. They said nothing as they went along and simply enjoyed one another's company. When at last they were out of the town, they moved towards the forest and Martel set down a blanket she had carried with her from the inn.

"This seems like a good spot, don't you think?" Martel asked.

"Any spot is good with me," Yuan told her and he sat down on the blanket. The date began without much conversation. They simply sat and ate and admired their surroundings. Yuan thought desperately of some sort of conversation topic that he could use. He couldn't think of anything brilliant so he was forced to settle for more obvious topics.

"So how long has it been just you and the kid?" he asked.

"Well, Mithos is six right now… So I guess that would make it five years." Martel told him. Then she smiled. "My turn to ask a question. Do you have any siblings?"

"I had an older brother. He died in the war though. My sword was his."

"Oh! I am so sorry. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories or anything!" Martel said quickly.

"Don't worry about it; there's no way you could have known. Besides, it's sad, but it doesn't mean I should never mention him. I have to remember him," Yuan answered simply. "Alright so if we're taking turns with questions than it's my turn. What is the worst thing you've ever done?"

"Well, I stole some bread once because Mithos and I were starving. I felt bad though, so I went back and apologized. Then the family was so nice that they invited us in for dinner," Martel said. The expression on her face seemed to imply that she still felt bad about it even now.

"That's seriously the worst thing you've done?" Yuan asked raising an eyebrow. He was lying on his side and leaning on his hand as he ate. It gave him a very relaxed appearance. Martel glanced down at him and blushed. He looked very attractive and laid-back like that.

"Why? What's the worst thing you ever did?" she said looking away.

"I sicked a bunch of slave kids on Kratos back before we were friends. He was such a quiet little kid and he never really made me do anything. Looking back I always feel really horrible about it." Yuan rolled over so he was on his back and he glared up at the sky. "Don't tell him. I don't think I ever mentioned that the whole thing was my fault."  
Martel smiled at his behavior; glad to see he was so concerned about his friend. She let Yuan get lost in his thoughts for a moment before speaking to him.

"It's your turn to ask a question, you know."

"Oh yeah, sorry. Alright then, how old are you?" Yuan asked. He wouldn't look her in the eye as he awaited her answer.

"That's an easy question. I'm nineteen years old. How old are you Yuan?"

"Twenty or about that anyway. Guess we're pretty close in age than. It's hard to tell with half elves," He answered sitting up.

"Yeah. Although, I knew you must be about Kratos's age and he couldn't have been far from twenty."  
"That's very true," Yuan told her. Both of them suddenly found their fingernails very interesting and they spent the next several minutes staring at their hands. Suddenly Martel perked up and looked at him.

"It's getting dark. Would you like to go for a walk in the moonlight?"

"Sure! That sounds romant… I mean, sure!" Yuan answered. He stood up and offered a hand to help her up. She accepted it, and together they walked into the woods leaving their things behind them.

00000

"This is my magic song. I sing it as I walk along. I'm going to learn magic now. And I bet you don't know how." Mithos skipped along in front of Kratos and Noishe making up little rhymes. He was positively bursting with energy, and Kratos didn't know quite what to do with him.

"Why don't we stop here? It seems clear enough," he suggested. Mithos stopped skipping and hurried back to Kratos. He stared up intently at the human, and Kratos found it almost unnerving.

"Well, aren't you going to teach me?" Mithos demanded.

"Yes, but you need to be patient. First, I want you to understand that there is more to magic than simply being able to do it. Using the magic is the first part, and perhaps even the simplest. Getting true control, however, takes time and effort. I don't want you using any of these attacks outside of these sessions until I give you permission. They can be extremely dangerous."

Mithos nodded earnestly, which caused Kratos to smile a little. The child was bursting with eagerness.

"Well, I suppose the first question would be what type of magic you want to learn. There are a lot of options to choose from. You can dabble a little in every type or master one element."

"I'm going to master every type. So I don't care where we start," Mithos told him seriously. Kratos raised an eyebrow, but didn't question him. He tried to decide which attack would be the least dangerous and decided to start with water.

"Why don't we try using Aqua Edge first?" Kratos asked, and the boy nodded. "Alright, so using magic requires a tremendous amount of focus, and you need to focus on two things at once. One of those things is the attack itself. You need to focus on the incantation and precisely what you want your spell to do. The other thing you must keep in mind is the element itself- either its occurrence in nature or the summon spirit that represents it. Are you following all this?"

"I think so. It sounds pretty simple," Mithos answered simply.

"You think so?" Kratos asked.

"Yeah. I mean, Martel said it was kinda like sensing mana in reverse right? I've got a really strong sense when it comes to that. Let me give it a try!"

"Fine. Go ahead. The spell is Aqua Edge."

Mithos stood very still and focused. He was positively silent and looked like some sort of statue standing there unmoving. Much to Kratos's surprise a huge spell circle began to form beneath him. He stared for a moment, amazed at the sheer amount of power that the boy was storing. He was too late when he at last acted.

"Mithos! Wait! Don't use that much power!"

"Aqua Edge!" Mithos shot forth blades of water far bigger than those that normally accompanied the attack. A line of trees near where they were standing fell at the touch of the water. The young boy swayed where he stood before collapsing backward.

"Are you alright? Mithos! Talk to me," Kratos said picking the child up. Mithos opened his eyes and smiled.

"See? I told you. Amazing, right?"

"You can't do that, Mithos. You have to be careful. Yes, it's amazing that you can summon such power; I never imagined that you could at such a young age, but you shouldn't do that. Magic is dangerous. If you use it so recklessly than you could hurt your allies or your self. Look, at you Mithos. You've run yourself dry of mana."

"But that was amazing, right?"

"Yes, Mithos, but control is more important than power. All the power in the world won't do you any good if it's out of hand." Mithos turned away from Kratos, a difficult feat considering that the human was carrying him. He sniffed loudly and Kratos suddenly felt guilty.

"Are you crying?" he asked gently.

"No…" Mithos lied quietly. Kratos set him down on the grass and sat in front of him, waiting to speak until the child had collected himself.

"I think I may have been a bit too harsh. You caught me off guard. You're right Mithos; what you did was something to be proud of. I expected that it would take years for you to summon that sort of power. Control isn't more important, it's equally important. For you, power is a natural gift, and control is something you must work towards. It's only natural for certain aspects of this to be difficult. We'll just have to work on that element of mastery."

"Do you think I can be a great mage?" Mithos asked looking up at Kratos and giving a tremendous sniff.

"Of course. There is no doubt in my mind. In fact, I'm sort of glad. I think I'll make a more competent teacher of discipline than I could ever be if I was teaching you to gather mana." Mithos smiled up at Kratos and wiped his eyes. The man couldn't help but smile back. "I think we should stop for today though. You look exhausted."

"Aw, I'm fine. Don't you worry, I can contin-" The two comrades were distracted suddenly when Noishe, who had been resting in the grass, stood up suddenly and started growling. Both human and half elf stood and swung their heads in the direction that the protozoan was facing and watched tensely. Along the line of felled trees came a young half-elf running with all his might. The boy stopped in front of them, doubled up and panting.

"Oh, thank god. I saw those trees and thought this town had already been attacked. I just escaped from my town. The human army completely destroyed it! We have to get everyone out of town!" the boy shouted amidst gasps for air. Kratos looked down at Mithos who nodded up at him determinedly.

"You go warn the people in town. We'll take care of the army."

00000

Martel and Yuan had been having a marvelous time as they walked through the forest. They had stopped to rest by a small stream. Martel was leaning against Yuan's chest and running her hands through the water. Yuan laid his cheek on the top of her head and smiled. He felt remarkably content sitting there with her like that. Nothing could have ruined that moment.

"Noishe!?" Yuan found him self pushed forward as a pair of muddy paws was placed upon his shoulders. Martel sat up looking startled, before she could say anything, however, Kratos with Mithos in tow came barreling into the clearing.

"There's been an attack on another village!" Mithos shouted.

"There's got to be another base around here somewhere. We need to go save those people," Kratos said hurriedly.

"Of course!" Martel agreed standing up. Yuan sighed and stood up. This hero business wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

00000

I hope you liked it!


	15. Chapter 15

Yay, new chapter! I don't own Tales of Symphonia.

OOO

"Kratos, wait up a second! We don't even know where this base is, and we don't have a trail to follow or anything," Yuan called after his friend as he ran through town. The entire place was in disarray as people ran to gather their families and leave the town. Kratos ignored Yuan and hurried into the inn; he returned with their weapons.

"Here," he said tossing Yuan's sword at him, "The boy that came out of the forest may have left a trail that we can follow. If we find the town he came from Noishe can probably pick up a scent. Follow me."

Kratos, Martel, Yuan and Mithos, who was now riding Noishe, fought the crowd so that they could exit on the opposite side of town. Kratos looked around frantically when they had passed through the gate as he tried to remember precisely what direction the escaped boy had come from.

"What happened there? Are we already under attack?" Martel asked frantically, leaning on Yuan and pointing towards the line of felled trees.

"That's the way. Come on!" Kratos followed the stumps, and the others followed. He didn't bother to explain that the wreckage was left over from Mithos. When the group ran out of trees to follow, Kratos bent down and tried to find some sort of trail of footprints. Yuan joined him, getting down on his knees besides his friend.

"Damn it! There doesn't seem to be anything down here," Yuan complained running his hand over the dirt.

"Um, guys?" Mithos said suddenly.

"What do you want?" Yuan snapped at him.

"I think you should look up."

Kratos and Yuan raised there heads and saw a large mass of people making its way towards them. They were all dressed alike and it was immediately clear who they were.

"Soldiers," Kratos growled, "We need to hide. Now!"

The comrades scrambled off the road and into the forest where the trees were still standing. They crouched together, scarcely breathing, and hoped that the army would be so intent on its goal that they would remain overlooked. As ranks began to move pass their hiding place, Yuan leaned over to Kratos.

"We should move along the grove. We can't just wait until they all pass us. We need to hurry."

"Shouldn't we stop them? They're going to attack the village!" Martel whispered with worry in her voice.

"There's nothing we can do about a group this big. The best thing we can do is to go find the base and attack it while it's relatively defenseless. I don't know how we're going to rescue the people of this town," Kratos told her.

"That part's easy," Mithos said grinning. The three adults turned and looked at him. "If we rescue all the half-elves from the base then we'll have an army of our own. I bet anything that this base will have weird new weapons like the last one. We just have to arm our refugees, and we'll give those soldiers a surprise. I don't even think they're using those weird mana weapons yet!"

They all gaped at Mithos who smirked back at them confidently. The idea of using the people they were going to rescue as their own fighting force had never occurred to any of the three of them.

"That's brilliant, kiddo!" Yuan said, ruffling the young half elf's hair. "Come on. Let's move!"

Hurriedly the group moved along the side of the road, crouched and hidden behind the trees. When they had put a healthy distance between themselves and the attackers, they broke into a run following the path left by the marching feet of the soldiers. They skidded to a halt when they reached a sort of fork in the road. The dirt path stretched on before them, but it was dusty and not nearly as tamped down as it had been before. The path left by the army seemed instead to have come from the forest. The grass in that direction was flattened and they had felled any trees that stood in their way.

"This is perfect!" Mithos said, climbing off of Noishe and going to peer into the woods. "They practically left us a hallway. I bet anything it leads right to their base."

"It's almost too convenient. It could be a trap. I can't imagine they would be this careless after building such a well hidden bases," Kratos pointed out. Yuan rolled his eyes.

"For crying out loud, Kratos. Must you read so deeply into everything?"

"I think Yuan might be right. There is no reason to assume that this is a trap. They built it in secrecy so the locals wouldn't know about it. But all those locals have been captured. There is no one to keep a secret from," Martel reasoned.

"I suppose…"

"Come on! I thought we were in a hurry!" Mithos whined, and he pulled Noishe down the path. The adults hurried to follow him.

"Hey, you there halt!"

The path, as one might have expected, led directly to the front gate of the base, which left Mithos in full view. He looked up to the top of the gate and found a human guard was staring down at him.

"Where the hell did you come from?" the guard wondered aloud, and he seemed even more surprised when the little boy was joined by more people.

"Lightening!" Yuan shouted, and the man toppled forward and lay hanging over the top of the wall. "Do you think he's the only one?"

"Most likely there will be a few more inside, but I think he was the only guard. We should be careful though; I didn't see any high-ranking officers with the group going to attack the village. The man in charge of this fort is most likely still here," Kratos answered.

Kratos released a few Fireballs and waited until a hole big enough to pass through was burnt through the large wooden door. He doused the flames and led the rest of the group through.

The layout of the fort was virtually identical to the last one, although this one was more richly decorated. The four friends found the staircase leading down to the dungeon with relative ease. It was in the same place it had been in before.

"Where's the creativity?" Yuan complained shaking his head.

"Why would they bother making separate blue prints for all their bases? It's more practical this way," Kratos said. Yuan shrugged.

"I'm just saying, I would appreciate a little more excitement," Yuan replied.

"Mithos and I will go down and begin releasing prisoners. I'm sure we can at least handle any guards that may be down there. You two go ahead, take down the boss, and see if you can find any weapons."

"Alright, Martel. Be careful, alright?" Yuan replied. Mithos pulled his sister down the steps as Kratos and Yuan headed off in the opposite direction.

"This is going to take too long," Yuan mumbled to his friend.

"You're probably right. We should split up," Kratos told him.

"Okay then. The weapons should be down this hallway-if they're in the same place as before. The leader could be anywhere. You go get the weapons."  
"No. You're better with machines than I am, and you'll probably be more helpful in trying to rally together the half-elves. You get the weapons. I'll take on the officer."

"You sure about that?" Yuan asked his old friend.

"I'll be fine, Yuan. Don't worry about me. I'll meet you all back at the village. I'll see you there."

"That's a promise, Kratos, and you'd better not break it," the half-elf clasped his friend's shoulder for a moment before heading off towards the weapons room.

"Go with him, Noishe. He'll need you to carry things," Kratos said to the protozoan who had followed them in. Noishe barked before leaving his master alone in the hallway.

Kratos did not give himself a moment to think before setting off down the apposing hallway. He glanced in each and every doorway in hopes of finding the man who was in control of this base. Eventually one door presented him with precisely what he was looking for. An older man sat at a large desk flipping through some papers in a bored manner. He seemed confused when he looked up and saw Kratos standing in the doorway.

"What is the meaning of this? Who are you?" The man demanded standing up.

"My apologies, sir. I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill you."

OOO

"Look at all this, Noishe. It's pretty impressive," Yuan said with a whistle. He wasn't sure if what Kratos had said about him being better with mechanics was true, but he certainly liked them more. Magitechnology, as useless as it generally was for those who could use magic, always seemed to fascinate him. He was enjoying fiddling around with all the shiny tools when he remembered that he had to hurry. He grabbed a number of small weapons that emitted blasts of mana and began to load them on the protozoan's back. He then grabbed as many as he could carry and left the room.

He found Martel and Mithos in front of the base explaining about the village under attack.

"So if anyone who feels up to it could please help us, we would be forever grateful," Martel finished.

"But all of us who can fight are at war. None of us can use magic and we have no weapons!" someone protested.

"No need!" Yuan shouted. He raised a mana blaster over his head. "We'll get some humans with a taste of their own medicine."

There was silence amongst the refugees for a moment then somebody let out a whoop. There were a few more war cries before Yuan was practically smothered by people demanding weapons. In a moment they had a ragtag team of zealous teenagers and vengeful mothers ready to take on the people who had imprisoned them.

"Anyone who doesn't want to fight come with us and then hang back. Let's move out!" Yuan shouted to the group. With help from their new comrades Yuan, Martel, and Mithos pushed open the great door and led the troop on towards battle.

OOO

The man had put a valiant fight, and Kratos was sure that by now his friends and the refugees had cleared out. He suppose part of the delay was the result of his own hesitance. Overcoming the racial connection was surprisingly difficult for him, and as he made his way back through the winding hallways of the base Kratos was forced to coldly banished all guilt from his mind. That man had caused pain, misery and death to countless innocents; if he hadn't been stopped the half-elves in his jurisdiction would only have suffered more. And besides, this was war and, whether Martel wanted to admit it or not, it meant that some people would be killed. There was no reason for him to feel guilty.

Kratos froze suddenly as he heard another set of footsteps coming down the hall. They were quiet, deliberate steps, not the kind that Kratos would expect from a panic stricken soldier or left-behind refugee. His mind raced and it occurred to him that there were many places in the base he hadn't checked. He had no idea who or what could have been hiding, waiting for someone to be alone. His hand moved to the hilt of his sword, and Kratos stood waiting for whatever cold fearless being was making its way toward him.

"I thought I'd find you here," it was a simple sentence, spoken as if the meeting were something unremarkable. The tone was almost empty, except for a faint tinge of disgust beneath the words. Yet Kratos knew the owner of that voice even though, upon hearing it, he immediately looked away.

"What's the matter, boy? Why won't you look at me? Are you that terrified of your own father? Or are you ashamed? You ought to be; I am." Commander Aurion's tone was now one of mocking humor. The Commander took one deliberate step in the direction of his son, and Kratos found himself backing up.

This is ridiculous, Kratos thought to himself. I'm a grown man, not a cowardly child; I should be able to face him. Fighting the strange feeling of being thrown back into childhood, Kratos raised his head. He was ready to face his father. He was ready to face the man whom he had looked up to. The man he had always assumed was too great to pay attention to his son. The man who had controlled Kratos's life in one way or another for the past twenty years. The man who was so powerful in both rank and fighting skills that his intimidating strength kept half the world in awe of him, and the other half in terror.

And this preparedness was precisely why Kratos was not ready for what he looked up and saw. Commander Aurion was old. What was left of his hair was entirely grey and his face was becoming lined with wrinkles. He was short and unimpressive, not a muscle to show for all his years of fighting, for just as many of those years had been spent in gluttony. He was so utterly unterrifying that Kratos found himself taken aback. He met his father's eyes with a look of pity that he hadn't been expecting from himself. But Commander Aurion had expected it and he gave his son a sarcastic smirk.

"What? It's been six years Kratos, what did you expect? I'm 62 now, a far cry from youth." He stopped for a moment to eye the look on his son's face. Kratos was staring at his father in disbelief, with a look in his eyes that said he didn't understand.

"I can't believe it," The commander said, although from the tone of his voice it was obvious that he did, "You've begun to think you're one of them, haven't you? Six years is nothing to them, is it? 62 is nothing but a child in their eyes. Ah, but Kratos, you're not one of them; you never will be. You're still young I suppose, but still, I give you… sixty-five years, at most, in which to live your life. Maybe thirty years before you start to slow them down. You're human, boy, whether you want to admit it or not, and sooner or later you're going to be forced to face it.

"We're different from them, boy, they're dangerous. Let the elves live forever; they leave well enough along. But the half-elves," Commander Aurion paused and shook his head, "They have our industry. The industriousness that exists in humans, because without it we could never leave our mark upon this planet in the short time in which we have to tread it. Can't you see what's wrong with them?! A species that lives so long should not live as desperately as one that lives the human life span. Don't you see the power it gives them? Don't you see how terrifying they truly are?!"

Commander Aurion gave into a coughing fit as his speech mounted to its climax, and he stood doubled over in the hallway. Kratos stared at his father in disbelief, torn between going to help the old man, and getting as far away as possible. His mind wouldn't work straight and he found his breathing becoming faster and more frantic.

"Go!" Commander Aurion said with as much strength as he could muster.

"Wh… Why?" Kratos stuttered. "Why are you letting me go?"

"Don't be a fool, boy," he shouted and then more calmly, "My allies are coming, and I want to give you a chance to do the right thing, Son."

Kratos stared at the old man in horror for a moment, before running past him and as far from the base as possible.

OOO

Not sure how I feel about this chapter. I like the end, but I had that part written way ahead of time. The rest of it feels kind of choppy to me. As much as I like adventure stuff, I always feel that I write the slow talking parts much better.

Reviews please!


	16. Chapter 16

Thanks for the reviews everyone. I had originally planned to play the game while I wrote this, in order to keep myself on track, however, I started replaying the Ace Attorney series for no apparent reason. I wasn't able to write a good chapter for this until I had finished redoing that….

Anyway I don't own ToS.

OOO

The three half-elf companions led their little army down the road towards the abandoned village at a high speed. It was as if they had all been seized by the moment and were swept up by the glory of their freedom crusade. It was a wonderful feeling to be involved in something so devoid of moral qualms. It was so easy to fight when there were innocent people to protect; there was no reason to second-guess yourself.

They stopped, however, at the sight of smoke curling up above the town, and there was a brief moment of wondering about the people they had come too late to save. The group was met with a more urgent problem, however, as the group of human soldiers came into view, leading newfound prisoners.

"Ready yourselves, everyone. The numbers may be slightly in their favor, but we have these shiny new weapons. Fear nothing; we'll win," Yuan shouted to his rag-tag army. "Try to free prisoners, while we're fighting. It'll increase our numbers."

By this point the humans had come close enough to figure out precisely who was blocking the road. Yuan started forward, leading the charge, before the humans could start to attack. It was a glorious feeling, being the leader.

OOO

To those who didn't know him well, Kratos would have seemed like an averagely listless young man as he wandered away from the human base. He walked slowly, every once in awhile kicking at the ground or breaking a branch off a tree. He had neglected to take the well-traveled path and, instead, was wandering through the forest just off the road. He seemed aimless, unhurried, and unconcerned with just about everything.

The few who knew him well, however, would be able to tell immediately that something was seriously wrong. Kratos was rarely listless, and never aimless. He was not the sort to simply go for a walk simply for the sake of doing so. He walked with a purpose, always. He was a logical person, not the sort to take needless risks. He would not wander of the beaten path out of curiosity or just to be different. Kratos was off the path for a reason. He did not want to be seen.

Kratos's eyes were rarely unfocused. They were sharp and deep and observant. They were always clear and intelligent, portraying the ever-moving gears of his mind. When he was pensive, he was not the sort to seem as though he were looking through things, but instead the sort who seemed to look at everything. The look that now came over his face betrayed precisely what was going on inside of his head. His eyes were blank, and so was his mind.

Kratos made his way back to the town in this slow mechanical fashion, and so arrived after the battle had already been fought. He made his way back onto the path and over the mangled corpses that were left from battle. He passed through the charred remains of the town until he reached the other side. A camp was being erected amongst the sounds of raucous laughter and joyful singing. Habitually he sought out Yuan, who sat with their other two companions around a campfire. Had he been more aware of his surroundings, Kratos would have found it odd that they were not helping the others or joining in with the festivities. They were quiet and serious.

"He's here!" Mithos practically squealed when he saw the human coming towards them. Martel put a hand over her heart and smiled in relief. Yuan broke into a grin and got up to meet him.

"There you are! You took so long, that we were getting really worried. We thought…" Yuan grew quiet and stopped smiling for a moment, "Well, we're just glad your back. Now we can celebrate with everyone else."

"You should have seen it, Kratos. Those blaster things are amazing! I got to fight with everyone else! I didn't even have to break my promise and use magic," Mithos told him. Kratos responded with a meaningless grunt and sat down near the fire. Noishe came over and laid his head across his master's feet.

"Are you alright?" Yuan asked in concern.

"I'm fine."

"If you say so. Listen, Kratos you should have seen it. Those things are super powerful. The humans didn't know what hit them. I'm guessing they didn't even know that those mana weapons were being developed. The battle ended pretty well for us. We only lost a few poor souls."

"It's a pity anyone had to die," Martel said shaking her head. "I understand why everyone is celebrating, but I can't bring myself to join in. Those weapons don't excite me either. I'm concerned. While they were being used the mana in the air around us grew so thin. It seemed so unnatural."

"But they were bad people, Martel!" Mithos insisted.

"It's never that simple," she told her brother.

"It might not be that simple, but I don't think we can afford to sit down and weed through the complexities either. We're in the right; I'm sure of it. Taking down these bases is the best option we have," Yuan said sighing.

"I agree," Mithos said quickly, catching everyone off guard in his readiness to side with Yuan. "I've been thinking that we should go after the bases. Not just attack them when we come across them, but really go after them. We can take them down faster than they can build them up. We understand how to do it now! If we can meet up with the half-elf army we can teach them the lay out too. I'm not saying we should stop preaching peace or anything, but we gotta fight back until people start to listen."

The three adults were listening closely. Yuan and Martel both leaned towards him, their surprise at his words evident. Kratos's movement was nearly imperceptible. His bleary eyes focused on the child with a fierce sharpness.

"It's not just the bases either. I think we've gotta hit this think from all sorts of angles. We have to talk to people and we have to fight, but after that we have to go even farther. We need to talk to the half-elf king, and any other powerful people!"

"So what you're saying is we need to be envoys to the people, warriors, and diplomats all at once?" Martel asked.

"I guess that's what I'm saying," Mithos responded.

"You think that'll work?" Yuan asked. " I mean do you know how long that would take?"

"I don't think it'll take that long. I'm hoping it won't take that long to actually end the war. It's the clean up part that'll probably take the longest. Martel would probably be good at that. She's so nice. You see that's the best part! If we end the war quickly, by hitting it from all sides, than we can make sure that everything ends up the way we want it. People are already calling us heroes. I'm sure they'll listen to what we have to say. We can control how the world turns out in the end. I mean, we've got like a thousand years to make sure everything turns out alright."

Kratos tensed.

"Mithos, you're right!" Martel exclaimed excitedly, "We can guide the world into an age of peace and prosperity!"

"If we get in good with governments, than we'll already be in a perfect position to do that!" Yuan added.

"What do you think, Kratos!" Mithos asked, the pride in his voice perceptible.

"What the hell do you think you are? Gods?" Kratos shouted standing up suddenly and knocking Noishe to the ground. The three half-elves stared at him in shock. "How can you talk like that? Like controlling the very fate of the world is something you have a right to do. He was right. Creatures that live so long should not be so industrious. You're terrifying."

"What are you talking about 'creatures'? You sound like some regular human!" Mithos yelled back.

"Kratos. What's wrong with you?" Yuan asked quietly.

"With me? Nothing. I'm not turning myself into some false deity. Don't you see what's wrong with it? You're going to live for one thousand years, why are you in such a damned hurry to get everything done? One thousand years. You could change the world a hundred different times in that! Leave the desperation to those of us who aren't going to live forever!" Kratos turned and stormed away, knocking aside Noishe who tried to follow him.

"Fine! Damn, human! Go away! We don't need you!" Mithos shouted picking up a rock and aiming it at Kratos. "I hate you!"

"I can't believe it. Why would he say such horrid things. I wonder if he's been harboring these feelings all along," Martel murmured going over to hug her now crying brother. "What does this say for our chances at global reconciliation?"

"This isn't like him. Something has been bothering him since he's got back to camp. I just can't figure out what could bother him so much," Yuan scrunched up his brow in deep thought. He ignored Mithos's mumbled insults aimed at Kratos, and simply ran through everything his friend had said. Somewhere in there, he was sure, was the answer to his friend's true distress.

"Those of us…" he said suddenly. "Who aren't going to live forever."

Martel looked up at him from where she knelt, and was surprised at the look on Yuan's face. He had gone, quite suddenly, from looking frustrated and confused to looking absolutely grief stricken. Before she could ask what had just occurred to him, he took off after his friend.

OOO

Yuan found Kratos, after some frantic searching, inside the burnt out husk of some old building in the town. He was sitting on the ground with his knees pulled up to his chest. He was staring at the ground wearing an expression that seemed simultaneously angry and sad. When he heard Yuan approach, he looked away in embarrassment.

"Do you all hate me now?" he asked quietly.

"I can't say much about the kid, but I don't think Martel is capable of hatred." Yuan sat down next to Kratos, "And I could never hate you."

Kratos looked at him in surprise and then refused to meet his eye again. "I said some nasty things. I sounded just like everything we're fighting against."

"What put these thoughts into your head; I know they aren't your own. Something happened at the base didn't it?"

"I ran into my father." Yuan gasped audibly in surprise. "He looked so old and frail. When I saw Hestia, just the other day she hadn't changed at all in the past fifteen years. My father changed so much in only six. When I was little they seemed to be exactly the same age, but she's hundreds of years older than him.

"He knew I was shocked at the sight of him, and he started talking. All the things I said to you just now. I didn't know what to think, and when Mithos started talking, everything he'd said seemed true. Yet, I'm not sure if it's really all that bad. Maybe someone needs to take control like that. Maybe the only thing that can truly end this war is someone who can look after this world and make sure nothing goes wrong. What really bothers me is that I can never be that person. I can never be a part of all of Mithos's beautiful ideals." Kratos shook his head suddenly, and looked forward with determination, "This is a waste of concern. I'm being selfish. I can help in the beginning, even if I don't make it that far."

He turned towards Yuan, who was watching in sorrowful silence and put a hand on his shoulder. "Just promise me, you won't leave me behind when I grow useless. I can't imagine that I'll have anyone else to look after me when I'm old and infirm."

"Is it that selfish?" Yuan asked slowly, "I don't want you to die either."

Kratos was caught off guard as tears began to roll down Yuan's face. The only other time Kratos had seen his friend cry was after the death of his brother.

"It's not fair! We've always been there for each other. I never thought about it; it just seemed like you would continue to be there. Kratos, I don't want to live 900 years without you!"

"I don't want you to die either!" Mithos and Martel entered the ruin, just as Yuan buried his face in his hands. Mithos ran to Kratos and wrapped his arms around his neck. Martel simply looked at him sadly. They were quiet for a while, only the sound of both Yuan and Mithos sobbing could be heard. Kratos and Martel were absolutely still.

"This is stupid," Mithos said sitting up abruptly, "We're gonna change the world, right? Don't you think if we can do something that big that we can do something this small? We'll save you, Kratos! We won't leave anyone behind! Even if we have to find the summon spirits themselves."

"I have trouble believing that's possible," Kratos said quietly.

"Why?" Martel asked.

"He doesn't believe in summon spirits," Yuan answered.

"The power of the summon spirits and mana has performed miracles before, Kratos. Don't doubt them now."

"I promise," said Mithos, "We'll save you. No matter what it takes!"

OOO

Heh heh, sorry if you were expecting an epic battle scene; I was just more interested in Kratos's state of mind. Next time there's gonna be a time skip, but I don't know quite how far…


	17. Chapter 17

First, I'd like to thank unaumatochild for yelling at me. So thanks. I'm sorry I haven't updated, I started College and it's been somewhat distracting. Always with the drunk people outside my door on the weekends! I also must admit that I've been nervous about writing with the sequel so close to coming out. Even though this is a prequel, I've been convinced that it will some how turn everything I write into obvious lies. The anticipation is so heavy!

OOO

_A little over 4000 years before the beginning of Tales of Symphonia_

"We're finally going to get to meet them," Mithos said as he leaned against the door to their room at the inn. He wasn't asking a question, or even talking to anyone in particular, but there was something heavy about his words that seemed to hang over the group.

"It has sure as hell taken them long enough," Yuan said angrily, "We've been protecting the front for years now; it's about time they take some control."

"That's not entirely fair. They have been trying to push the humans back," Kratos told him, "Just because they haven't been paying us any attention doesn't mean they haven't been doing anything."

"They haven't been doing anything useful!" his friend snapped back, "We've been running up and down the border for the past eight years. We haven't accomplished anything!"

"We've stopped the humans from expanding further in."

"It's like trying to fight off some sort of infestation. You knock down one nest they build up another. It's so frustrating." Yuan sat down on the floor and buried his face in his arms, "Eight years and they just keep getting up again. Nothing has changed."

"I've changed," Mithos offered, "I'm a lot better fighter than I used to be, aren't I Kratos?"

"Indeed," Kratos said giving the youth a small smile, "You're a great deal taller as well." Mithos grinned at this and tried to inconspicuously compare his height to the human. Yuan watched him out of the corner of his eye, but didn't seem amused.

"We haven't changed at all. It's kind of boring," he said. Kratos responded with a vague grunt and reached up to feel his spiky hair automatically. At this Yuan smiled.

"You're just glad you haven't lost any of it yet; aren't you?"

"Don't say that as though it's definitely going to happen!" Kratos snapped, perhaps a little more defensively than he meant to. Yuan cackled but said nothing.

"If today's meeting goes well then we can start focusing on making sure you don't lose your hair," Mithos said as means of comfort.

"Because that is defiantly more of a concern than your mortality," Yuan added.

"Shut up!" Mithos growled, "You know what I meant!"

"Dammit kid how come you can never take a jo-"

"Are you two fighting again?" the door opened and Martel came out. Looking rather sheepish the two male half-elves avoided her eyes, but they did not deny the truth of her words. She smiled slightly and shook her head, "Is everybody ready now? Today could be a very important day."

"We were only waiting for you, my dear," Yuan said getting gracefully to his feet and taking her hand. Mithos made a gagging noise in the back of his throat.

"Would it be at all possible for the two of you to conduct yourselves with at least the appearance of maturity?" Kratos asked in a tired manner.

"You don't need to worry about me," Mithos replied, bending down to scratch Noishe who had followed Martel out of their room.

"You don't need to worry about anything, Mom," Yuan said.

"Did you just call me Mo-" Kratos began, but he was interrupted.

"Let's just go, shall we?" Martel said quickly. She pulled Yuan toward the front desk before he could antagonize anyone further. She began to fumble for their money, but the innkeeper stopped her.

"No need for that! I'm simply honored to have the four heroes stay here. We on the border consider you greater than the army, even if the people further in haven't heard of you. Don't you worry about payment!"

"Why thank you!" Martel told him gratefully. She bowed courteously and the innkeeper blushed. Seeing that Mithos and Yuan were beginning to bristle, Kratos and Martel pulled them out of the building before they could go after the innkeeper.

They made their way through the small town without any difficulty. The problems that they had faced when they had first begun had long since faded. Kratos was no longer singled out for his racial difference, he was simply one of the heroes and he was welcomed like the rest of them. Everyone they past greeted them cheerily, and it was a good feeling to know that everything they did caused such joy.

As they left the town they could see, a little ways a way, a group of disheveled tents. This was their destination; the leader of the half-elf army had at last decided that it was necessary to speak to them.

The camp was filled with soldiers all dressed in ragtag clothing at various levels of decay. They watched the four outsiders who walked into the camp so nonchalantly. The soldiers all knew who they were but, up until now, there had been no real interaction between the two groups. Yuan was rather uninterested in the entire thing and kept a protective hand on Martel's arm. For her own part, Martel simply smiled at the poor men who regarded her as though she were some sort of goddess. Mithos glanced about in fascination. He had never seen so many men in one place before.

Kratos walked facing forward, affecting a similar indifference to Yuan's. However, his eyes roved the camp, taking in the scene that was so alien to his concept of "army". He could feel the soldiers regarding him with some disdain. The half-elves on the border had come to know him and except him. The soldiers had only heard of his apparent good deeds. To them he still looked far too much like the enemy.

"Excuse me." A man, slightly better dressed than the others, walked up to them, "The commander is this way. Follow me, please."

The four comrades all gave him slight nods, and followed. He led them to the largest tent, which was slightly towards the middle of the camp. Inside a man sat bent over and working diligently. Both his desk and his chair were merely crates, but his form still seemed rather demanding of respect. He sat up when he heard them come in, and he turned to face them. He looked tired but he smiled. His hair was a grayish brown and it hung unceremoniously in his face. He shook his head to clear his eyes and face.

"Have we met?" the words came from Yuan, Kratos, and the commander all at precisely the same time. Mithos and Martel looked at their companions in confusion. The three men continued to stare at one another, each of them running through any possible times when they could have run into one another. The commander's eyes widened suddenly and he smirked.

"You are a human, correct?" he asked, looking at Kratos.

"Yes," Kratos responded sounding unsure of himself.

"And you are friends with this man here?" The commander pointed to Yuan. Kratos nodded. "The people say you have been friends since childhood. Do they speak true?"

"Yes."

"Would I be right if I said that you were the son of the human commander?" The four heroes all stared at him in shock. Martel still used Kratos and Yuan as an example when speaking to the people, but she had always left that detail out. There was no reason that this man should know about it.

"Have you forgotten," he asked with a laugh, "the general you saved?"

"That was you!?" Yuan said suddenly, "Seriously? What are the odds?"

"Yes, that was me. I must say you look more like your brother than ever. I thought for a moment a specter had entered my tent. I had to place him," he gestured to Kratos, "before I could decided for certain who you were."

"What's going on?" Mithos asked, feeling ignored and annoyed. He tugged at Kratos's arm for attention.

"Before my father disowned me, this man was brought to the military academy that I attended to be executed. Yuan and I helped him escape," Kratos told him. Mithos grinned at him in amazement.

"I must admit I never expected my little heroes to be the same men tramping all over the border doing the job of my army. This will make our conversation a little easier; I know I can trust you." His voice grew a little more serious. "I'd like to offer better seats but I have none, so please make yourselves as much at home as possible."

Martel and Yuan sat together on the crate the man had been using as a desk, and the commander himself sat on the smaller crate that he had been using before. Kratos and Mithos were content to take the ground and Noishe wedged his way comfortably between them.

"We have much to discuss," the commander began.

"Like where the hell you've been! I've nearly doubled in height while you and your army have been nowhere in sight!" Mithos snapped.

"Mithos! First of all, you wish. Second of all give the guy and chance to explain before biting his head off," Yuan said.

"No no, the boy is right. We have left you entirely alone, and you have accomplished much more." The commander sighed.

"Where was the army?" Kratos asked, trying to reign in the conversation.

"All over the place. Army is far too nice a word for this group. It is a militia; a small hurried group that lacked defining leadership. We had a number of generals, but no central figure besides our King. Our King is having trouble enough trying to unite the people without having to deal with fighting off the humans. This isn't a country; it's a couple hundred towns all spread out and unused to answering to anyone from far away. The army was much the same way. I was appointed Commander just two years ago, and I've spent my time since then trying to rally all of the different regiments together.

"They were all over the place. Most of them were a little over the border trying to fight any group of human soldiers they came across. Some of them were further inland trying to rally together more troops and keep the populous under control. I've gathered them up, but their aren't many of them and they are all woefully under trained. I don't know what to do with them. That's why I wanted to speak with the four of you. You've managed to rally together people with even less training, and you've protected the border for years. I want to help you, and I want your help."

"To be honest sir, this is precisely the chance we've been waiting for," Martel told him.

"Whatever you ask, my lady, shall be yours."

"My friends and I have a number of things that we wish to do in order to help move this war passed its current dead lock. If we teach you and your men how to handle the bases and the soldiers on the border, would you give us help in our other desires?"

"Of course. If I may ask, what is it that you desire to do?"

"There's two things really," Mithos said. "We want to meet with the half-elf king and the human king afterwards. But we also want find the summon spirits! We want their help in this war as well as in something… more personal."

"The summon spirits! Their help would surely be a great and wondrous gift. There whereabouts, however, are all but lost to us, and even if you found them the art of summoning has been closely guarded by the elves," the commander told them.

"Well, then we'll just have to get the elves to teach one of us," Yuan said with a smirk. "I believe their lovely little town lies along the border on the continent south of us. It shouldn't be too hard to pay them a little visit."

"It could be dangerous. They are isolationist to the extreme, and they have a special dislike for half-elves."

"We'll figure something out," Yuan answered without concern, "Won't we guys?"

"Martel and Mithos don't seem entirely thrilled with your plan," Kratos said quietly. Yuan turned around and saw that the siblings had both grown rather pale.

"I'm sorry. I forgot. Listen, if you don't want to then-" Yuan began.

"No. We'll go!" Mithos said with sudden decisiveness. "We have to save Kratos. I'm not going let them stop me."

"Yes," Martel agreed quietly, "The are a part of this world as well; we can't simply avoid them. They must be part of our peace as well."

OOO

A few days later the four comrades set off on a journey of their own. It was strange to suddenly be traveling for themselves. Even though they intended to protect the world with any help that they found, it was still not as direct as the nonstop fighting they had been doing. It was a relieving feeling.

It was certain that there would be problems when they arrived at the gate of Heimdall and demanded entrance. For now, however, miles of land and a stretch of ocean lay between them and their goal and they could relax.

OOO

Sorry that this is so short and rather boring. I needed it to get my bearings on this new time and their new goals. It sort of helped me figure out precisely what path I wanted them to take. At the end of the last chapter I had surpassed my more specific planning, and I was feeling somewhat lost. Heimdall shall be my light away from writer's block!


	18. Chapter 18

Here's another chapter. I figured I owed you one pretty quickly, since I didn't give you anything for awhile and when I did it was kind of boring and expositiony. This chapter should at least be somewhat more entertaining.

I don't own ToS.

OOO

After many days of walking the four comrades arrived at the continent's southernmost town. The village itself was as small as most of the other town's they'd come across; it's layout, however, was different. Instead of facing a main through street all the houses sat on the beach and looked over the ocean. There was a single long dock that stuck out into the deep and a number of small ships bobbed alongside it.

It was a sunny day and the town looked cheerful. Children ran along the beach, barefoot and laughing. Watching over these youthful games were a few gossiping teenage girls who were busy repairing expansive fish nets. One of the ships was beginning to move away from the harbor manned by a crew of women. The job was probably one that they had taken on in the absence of men. Nonetheless the women seemed cheerful. They laughed and shouted to one another as they adjusted sails and prepared nets. There was only one thing ruining the picturesque view.

"Ugh, this place wreaks," Yuan groaned. They had been smelling the town for quite sometime now. It had been growing stronger as they approached the village and now it was nearly unbearable.

"I suppose it's something that one adjusts too," Martel said, trying to sound cheerful despite the fact that she was plugging her nose. Kratos grimaced and held tightly on to Noishe who was growing excited. He was certain that if he released the protozoan that he would end up rolling around in rotting sea life.

Only Mithos seemed undisturbed by the stink. He was staring at the ocean in amazement.

"It's so… big!" he said in shock. "And look at the ground; it's so weird!"

He ran forward toward the water, before stooping and grabbing a handful of sand. He watched it drain through his fingers, his eyes so wide that one might have thought he was looking at gold. Still excited, he pulled his shoes off and ran into the water. The sun shown down upon him and his long hair flashed in the light.

"It would seem he's never seen the ocean before?" Kratos said, smiling at the child.

"He certainly couldn't remember it," Martel answered. "We crossed the sea between these two continents once before, but he was just a baby then. That was the only time I ever saw the ocean myself. When did you two see the ocean?"

"Well, we took one hellish journey over the water when we were still on the human side. We were in steerage, which meant we were crammed in with all manner of impoverished humans. It was really unsanitary, and to top it all off we spent the entire time convinced that someone would figure out that I was a half-elf. Of course, that was a much longer expanse of water, so this won't be nearly as bad," Yuan told her.

"We also spent a couple of Summers in a cottage by the seaside, back when I still lived with my parents," Kratos added.

"Cottage is a tremendous understatement if I ever heard one," Yuan said raising an eyebrow, "That thing was huge."

"It was smaller than the mansion."

"So is this town."

"Martel, look, I found this for you!" Mithos came running up brandishing a large seashell.

"Thank you," his sister said, excepting the gift with a smile. "Now why don't we see if we can find someone who will take us across the water."

"Kratos, go ask those girls who we should talk to," Yuan told the human.

"Why me?" Kratos asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because they're checking you out. Now go!" Yuan pushed Kratos forward onto the beach. With a miserable backward glance, the human made his way forward to the girls. They started giggling uncontrollably.

"Excuse me. Could I trouble you with a question?" he asked. They continued to giggle and slid into an argument.

"You ask!"

"No you!"

"Come on you ask. You're the oldest!" The oldest didn't argue back and instead glanced up at Kratos. She couldn't have been more than seventeen but her stare made him uncomfortable.

"You're one of the heroes right?" she asked, biting her lower lip to stop herself from giggling.

"Yes. I suppose that's what they've been calling us." The girls began to twitter all the more. Kratos decided to kill Yuan later. "Would any of you know where my comrades and I might procure passage across the ocean?"

"You're the most handsome human I've ever seen!" the youngest girl squealed and then she buried her face in her hands.

"He's the only human you've ever seen," the other two chided.

"Please girls, this is urgent," Kratos urged, his patience growing thin.

"Well, I don't think anyone actually ever goes across the ocean. But the old widow who lives in that house has a ship that no one uses anymore. She doesn't want to burn it or break it down because it belonged to her husband who died in the war. But she might give it to you, since you're the heroes," the oldest girl told him after calming herself down.

"Thank you very much ladies." Kratos said with a bow. At this the girls broke into another fit of giggles.

OOO

"I'm afraid I don't have anything to serve you," the old woman said with concern in her voice.

"That's not a problem at all," Martel told her gently, "We really just want to speak with you."

"Still I feel like I should give you children something." She continued to hobble about her kitchen, her white head bobbing up and down as she searched the cupboards, "Ah, here we go!"

She pulled a plate of dubious looking cookies off of a shelf and set it before the friends at the table. They stared at the plate nervously, not wanting to offend the woman, but not wanting to touch the cookies that had sat out of reach long enough to have been forgotten.

"Mithos, why don't you try one of those lovely treats," Yuan suggested pushing the plate towards the child. Mithos glared at the blue haired man, but reached forward and grabbed one anyway. The cookie was disturbingly soggy, as though it had tried to go stale but was far too full of sea air. Nervously Mithos nibbled it slightly.

"Mmmmm," he said looking as though he had just swallowed something rancid, "It's delicious you should try one Yuan."

Giving the child a death glare Yuan's hand shot out and grabbed a cookie. His face turned pale and he gagged slightly.

"It's delicious," he said.

"I'm so glad," the old woman told them. "Now what is it that you wanted to speak about?"

"We heard you had a ship," Martel began.

"Ah yes," the woman interrupted, "It belonged to my husband. He was an excellent seaman back in the day, but he went off to join the war effort and never returned. That was eight hundred years ago; I've kept it all this time."  
"Woah, wait. This boat is eight hundred years old?" Yuan asked, simultaneously slipping the rest of his cookie to Noishe. There was a hacking noise from under the table that Yuan covered by continuing to speak, "Is this thing even sea-worthy?"

"Aye," the woman answered very seriously, "I went fishing in it myself until about a hundred years ago. It sails like a beauty!"

"So this ship hasn't been used in over a hundred years?" Kratos asked.

"Don't say it like that. It may seem like a long time to _your_ kind, but the ship is sound. You can trust that." There was silence for a moment, "Why are you so interested in my vessel?"

The four friends glanced at one-another, each hoping some one else would take the hit and speak up.

"We were interested in buying it…" Martel told her quietly. The woman looked shocked.

"I'm not sure I'm interested in selling. There's nothing you could pay me that could equal what it's worth to me," the old widow said soberly.

"Please! We're trying to stop the war that your husband died in. Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Mithos pleaded. The woman looked at him and sighed. She seemed unsure.

"I'm sure your husband would have wanted his fine ship to be used in such a way. He'd want you to live to see the world free of war," Martel said to her gently.

"Do you know how control a ship?" the woman asked. The four shook their heads, "Well, then I'm going to have to teach you."

OOO

A day later the four heroes left in the rickety old vessel. It wasn't a bad ship, despite its age. It had clearly been cared for diligently and, as Yuan observed, it floated which was all that really mattered. The woman had painstakingly explained the workings of the boat. Yuan and Mithos had understood the directions relatively well and were bickering over who should truly be in control. Martel and Kratos were happy to let them fight, so long as they were useful. The boat had a small cabin in which they could sleep, a luxury they hadn't quite expected for such a relatively short journey.

They spent most of their time in doors, particularly Noishe who was not entirely fond of sea travel. On the second morning of their trip, Kratos stood out on the deck watching the gently rolling waves. It seemed strange that there could be such peace in such a war torn world.

"Kratos, can we talk?" Yuan asked coming out of the ship's cabin to join his old friend on the deck. The human gave him an odd look, but nodded anyway. It was very rare for Yuan to seek him out like this, particularly when Martel wasn't busy with something.

"What is it that you wish to speak about?" Kratos asked him.

"Sex," Yuan answered simply. The human stared at him in shock, and Yuan rolled his eyes. "For crying out loud, we're both grown men; stop being such a prude. I mean really, you'd think you still lived the stringent upper class life style."

"Well, fine then. What in particular did you want to discuss?" Kratos said trying not to look uncomfortable.

"It has been eight years since I last got laid. Eight years! Martel's to- I don't know-pure."

"Whom did you sleep with before?" Kratos asked in mild surprise.

"I don't know. Random people," Yuan said with a shrug. He glanced at Kratos, only to discover that he was receiving a very strange look. "Don't look at me like I'm dirty; I'm not the weird one you are!"

"I fail to see what is so strange about me," the human answered simply.

"You're a twenty-eight year old virgin; how is that not weird? You don't even have a good reason. I mean the only reason I've been abstaining is for Martel's sake."

"Wait, she's a virgin too, correct?"

"Yeah, so?"

"She's only a year younger than us! Why am I the only strange one?"

"I dunno. On her it seems like a virtue. On you it's pathetic."

"So what do you want me to do about your little predicament?" Kratos asked, trying to deflect the conversation from himself.

"I dunno. I just wanted to complain," Yuan said with a sigh, "So you've really never had sex Kratos? I mean there were plenty of chicks in the border villages who spent most of their time checking you out. You know, like those girls from a couple days ago."

"They were children! And anyway, why does this subject interest you so much?" Kratos hissed in frustration.

"I don't know. It's just so weird. I can't believe you've never had sex. You are missing out man." Yuan grinned. "I bet you won't be able to hold out that much longer."

"I'd take that bet," Kratos said in annoyance.

"Seriously? I bet you a hundred gald you won't be able to hold out."

"Until when," Kratos asked in a bored tone.

"A hundred gald a year until you get laid," Yuan said holding out his hand. Kratos shook it with mild disinterest. A moment later he sighed.

"This conversation is inane, and you do realize that there is no down side to this bet for me. There is no way I'll ever end up paying you."

"Oh, damn! I didn't think it through," Yuan whined. They were quiet for a while as they stood leaning over the ship's railing.

"Do you intend to marry her?" Kratos asked suddenly. Yuan blushed and said nothing, "That's the real reason you started this conversation, isn't it? You wanted me to tell you to marry her, because you're too damn uneasy with your own masculinity to admit that you'd come up with a romantic idea such as that on your own. So you came over here to get 'the prude' to come up with the idea for you."

"You know me to well… And I am not uneasy with my masculinity," Yuan snapped. Kratos raised an eyebrow at him. "Well okay fine! Maybe you're a little bit right. But it's a lot easier to be unconcerned about those sort of things when you're six feet tall and manly."

"You think I'm manly?"

"Gah! Can we just pretend this conversation never happened?" Yuan begged leaning on the railing and burying his head in his arms.

"Fine, but I still want my money," Kratos told him. Silence fell over them again as Yuan glared at the shining waters gloomily. Kratos looked at his friend and smiled slightly. He was glad to know that his friend was this easily effected by his feelings for Martel.

"Did you buy a ring?" Kratos asked quietly. Yuan didn't lift his head at all, but Kratos knew he was feeling somewhat cheered.

"Not yet. I don't know where to get one," Yuan mumbled into his arms.

"You could have one made by a black smith," Kratos suggested.

"She deserves better," Yuan said softly, at last looking at his old friend.

"I don't mean to sound elitist, but you're not going to find much better over here. What exactly are you looking for?"

"I don't know. I mean the only rings I ever really saw belonged to your mother. They were all so nice…"

"Even if they were available on this side of the border there's no way you could afford something like that," Kratos told him. Yuan looked down again as though he were ashamed. "She'll love what ever you give her. I really don't think the ring itself is the point."

"The ring has to be perfect, Kratos. Martel is perfect she can't have a crappy ring!" Yuan said, suddenly standing up straight. Kratos sighed and looked away.

"I've given you all my suggestions. I don't know what else you want out of me," he told his friend.

"Do you think they sell rings in Heimdall? I bet everything the elves make is beautiful," Yuan asked.

"I don't know; I suppose that it's possible. I don't know much about elven culture. Do you?"

"Nah. I'm at least second-generation, so I never had any contact with Elves. They sound like total pricks, but I bet they make all sorts of cool things. They sound like the sort of beings to invest their time in art and stuff like that."

"Haven't you ever spoken to Martel about them? She did grow up amongst their kind."

"A little, but it's kind of a touchy subject, you know? Neither of them seem particularly happy about going back." Yuan turned around so that he was leaning with his back to the ocean. He looked at Kratos and shrugged, "This'll certainly be an interesting little venture."

"Hmmm," Kratos agreed staring out over the ocean. He had no idea what to expect from the elves and the mysterious third culture that he had yet to experience. It lay somewhere over the ocean.

OOO

They left the boat on an unpopulated shore vowing to return to it. Off across the sand they walked, unsure what to expect in this new land. It was quite possible, they realized, that news of their heroism had not traveled quite this far. Even if it had it was possible that details would be missing. Finding villages that would feed and welcome them for free would be considerably difficult. They had very little money to spend, even considering that the old woman had given them the ship for free in honor of her husband.

They were not too far from Heimdall, and decided to avoid the stress of any other villages. The group was very quiet as they traveled through fields and forests. Each of them were lost in their own private thoughts, and did not realize the sadness of the others. Martel and Mithos stuck together, quietly understanding one another's fear of the Elven city. For his part, Yuan was worrying himself over rings and the perfect way to propose to the love of his life. Kratos was simply concerned about coming to a place where he would once again be ostracized. Noishe picked up on his master's problems and empathized, as good pets so often do.

It was in this bogged down mentality that they arrived outside Ymir forest. The four comrades looked at the shadowy entrance and steeled themselves. Their personal concerns would all be faced once they headed through those intimidating boughs.

OOO

I hope you enjoyed this somewhat random traveling/seaside chapter. They're going to Heimdall next; so exciting!


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